Sandy Brondello Called Angel Reese a ‘Protected Species.’ Then Came the Apology.

Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello is cleaning up a mess she created with two words. After Friday night’s 111-92 loss to the Atlanta Dream, video surfaced of Brondello calling Angel Reese a “protected species” during a heated moment with officials. The clip spread fast. And the backlash was immediate.

The comment came with just over three minutes left in the game. Reese and Nyara Sabally collided going for a rebound. Sabally took the worst of it and stayed on the floor for a while. The foul was called on Sabally. Brondello didn’t like it. A courtside microphone picked up her exact words.

“Protected species.”

Brondello is Australian. In some circles down under, that phrase is used to describe someone who gets preferential treatment from refs. But the optics of calling a Black woman a “species” hit different in the WNBA. Fans, analysts and players alike called it out. Reese didn’t wait. She quote-tweeted a post about the comment and wrote “ARE WE SURPRISED?!” with a clown emoji, tagging Brondello.

The apology came the next day

Brondello posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. She apologized directly to Reese. She didn’t make excuses. She said she used the phrase “in the emotion of the moment after Nyara’s injury” and took full responsibility. She also acknowledged the bigger picture.

“I understand the impact my words have, particularly for Black women in our league,” Brondello wrote. She added that she’s spent her whole career “competing with, coaching, and learning from incredible Black women” and regretted causing hurt to that community.

It’s a decent apology. But the damage was done the second the clip hit the timeline.

Context matters here

The Tempo are in their first season as a franchise. Brondello is a respected coach with a track record. But this is the kind of moment that lingers. Even if she didn’t mean it the way it sounded, language like that doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Reese, to her credit, didn’t let it slide. She let people know how it felt in real time.

The league hasn’t announced any disciplinary action. The teams play again later this season. For now, both sides seem ready to move on. But the clip isn’t going anywhere.