Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally did not hold back when discussing the Minnesota Lynx fanbase following a tense match between the two teams on August 22. "Disgusting fan base in Minny. The Schadenfreude to see someone get hurt can’t be a WNBA culture. Terrible words from the sidelines all game long," Sabally tweeted following the Wings' 91-86 loss. Her reaction came as a result of several fans appearing to cheer and yell insults at the forward after she appeared to go down with an injury late in the game. Reportedly, fans could be heard yelling that they were "glad" she was injured. A report from local media indicated that three fans had been ejected.
Sabally, the second-overall pick in 2020, led the Wings with 22 points. The German-born player is having a career year, excelling in a number of statistical categories. Across 33 games, she is averaging 17.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. Additionally, at 18-15, the Wings are second in the Western Conference. The Wings will host the Lynx in a return fixture on August 24. At this time, the Wings have not indicated if Sabally will play.
Lynx Back Sabally, Blast Disrespectful Fans
Furthermore, speaking after the game, members of the Lynx organization unequivocally backed Sabally. "There's no place for that. I was disappointed," head coach Cheryl Reeve said. "I apologized. Our fans are passionate, [but] you just can't cross the line of celebrating someone's injury. We wouldn't want that. We apologize that that happened to Satou."
"Of course, it gets competitive and tensions are running high when we're on the court, but we never want to see someone getting hurt. Celebrating that is super inappropriate and not something that represents us as a team or as players. I did think that fan deserved to get kicked out because I don't want that to represent who we are as Lynx. A lot of our fans, most of our fans, aren't like that. We don't want that to tarnish who we are," added forward Napheesa Collier.
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