Mystics coach Mike Thibault apologized via social media to Minnesota Lynx and coach Cheryl Reeve after comments he made about their travel issues to get to Sunday’s game in Washington, D.C.
Thibault said he was “tired of hearing” about WNBA travel delays and that he did not regret the Lynx.
“My apologies to @LynxCoachReeve and @minnesotalynx for my reaction to the question posed to me at my pre-game press conference today,” Thibault wrote on Twitter. “It’s not who I am and I just had to answer the question without extra drama.”
My apologies to @LynxCoachReeve and @minnesotalynx for my reaction to the question posed to me at my pre-game press conference today. It’s not who I am and I had just answered the question without extra drama.
The Lynx played back-to-back games Thursday and Friday in Minneapolis and Indianapolis, and then had flight issues on Saturday that delayed their arrival until midnight for 3 p.m. tipoff. They lost against the Mystics 70-57.
Reeve said she contacted the league before Sunday’s game when issues first began Saturday, but no one initially responded. She said that when the league finally responded to the team, it was to suggest alternative flights, which the Lynx had already seen.
“I’ve been in this league, and if you do it long enough, you’re going to be in these situations,” Reeve said. “I think when it comes to the challenges that arise, it’s all about your leadership and your ability to work collectively in that situation. Probably the biggest disappointment was the lack of response. From our point of view, there was no communication with the Minnesota Lynx.It was an epic failure.
“It was leaked to me later there was a communication with Washington. I warned the league that we potentially had a beer problem because I didn’t want them to get to know it on social media. I don’t think it’s acceptable that I” don’t get an answer. I can’t control how other people treat us … I thought we deserved more respect than that. We are not happy that no consideration has been given to us. “
Thibault was also asked about the WNBA’s travel delays ahead of Sunday’s game.
“I’m tired of hearing about them,” Thibault said, while a pantomime rubbed the tears in his eyes. “I’m tired of hearing about it on Twitter. It happens to every team. And I get it. Every team wants to come in feeling completely refreshed. But they came here last night. They didn’t play yesterday. I know it’s a long day. But everyone goes through that.”
Thibault then recounted his first year in the league, 2003, when he was the coach in Connecticut. The Sun had a game in Cleveland that was canceled by a blackout that affected many eastern states. The Sun took a bus back to Connecticut, and the next morning, they took another bus to New York for an afternoon game at Madison Square Garden.
“No one felt sorry for us … and we won,” Thibault said. “We just didn’t talk about it with our players. That’s just life. I want to feel sorry for [the Lynx]. But I’m sorry, I don’t.”
Asked about the league contacting Washington about possibly moving the game to Sunday evening, Thibault said, “We have a close sellout today, and not as if they were arriving this morning. I know it was a long travel day; we were all. We had them. “We really weren’t in a position to accommodate them unless there was a much more mitigating circumstance than there is now.”
After the game, however, Thibault made the post on Twitter that he regretted the remarks, and Reeve twitted back saying there were no hard feelings.
“All right, Coach,” she wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening. “We have years of respect behind us – this situation will not change that.”
Travel issues have become more prominent and often mentioned by WNBA players and coaches in recent years. The WNBA flies commercial for regular season games. New York Liberty has been fined $ 500,000 for leasing outdoor play flights during the 2021 season, for violating league rules.
Charters are typically not allowed because of concerns that they create a competitive advantage for teams whose owners can afford them. However, the tournament in 2019 has added cards to the playoff games where teams will cross several time zones with just one day between games.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert also announced ahead of the July 10 All-Star Game that the league will lease all flights for the WNBA Finals starting this year.
