(Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated a court’s decision on Isiah Thomas. He was found to have aided and abetted a hostile work environment.)
The Madison Square Garden Company announced Tuesday that it planned to sell the New York Liberty, one of the WNBA’s most storied franchises. Some of the greatest players in women’s basketball history have worn the team’s jersey. The coaching staff has consisted of some of the most influential people in the game. Just last year the team took a stand against social injustice and made national news.
Yet MSG chairman James Dolan managed to thank one single person by name in the press release: Isiah Thomas.
Yes, that Isiah Thomas. The team president and part owner Dolan brought on to run the Liberty in 2015 — despite the fact that Thomas was found to have aided and abetted a hostile work environment for a team executive during his time with the Knicks.
“I would like to thank Isiah, and the Liberty players and coaching staff, who have made great progress in strengthening and growing the franchise. Under Isiah’s leadership, the team has broadened its roster of top sponsors, increased its passionate fanbase, and developed a solid team built for long-term competitiveness. The Liberty now presents a tremendous opportunity for a new owner to bring new resources, creativity and focus to ensure the team becomes an enduring success.”
But then again, why would Dolan pick now of all times in American culture to decide to think about any woman’s complaints against the only Liberty employee he bothered to address by name?
The sale of the team comes only weeks after the San Antonio Stars were sold to new owners who promptly moved the team to Las Vegas. Another team being put on sale — a franchise that had the backing of one of the biggest brands in basketball in one of the biggest markets in America — doesn’t look great. But for those who are apt to paint it as another sign that the league isn’t doing well, it’s probably not that either.
Dolan had reportedly considered the sale at other points through the years — which is understandable. The WNBA isn’t a huge moneymaker yet. And as many on social media pointed out, this decision may have been foreshadowed by longtime coach Bill Laimbeer leaving the Liberty to take over the yet-to-be-named Las Vegas team.
But for the owner of a team that has so much history, he could have at least acknowledged some other people by name. Take, for example Rebecca Lobo, the Naismith Hall of Famer who the Liberty selected in the 1997 draft and who remains one of the biggest figures in women’s basketball.
Or Katie Smith, the former WNBA star who took the reins from Laimbeer when he left for Vegas — a move that he likely engineered after he made her his associate head coach.
Or Teresa Weatherspoon, the former Liberty star who came back to be the development coach, a job she completes by agreeing to meet Liberty players at all hours of the night to work on skills.
AP Images
Then there’s Tina Charles, an MVP candidate who made headlines for his team by donating her salary to help victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Sugar Rodgers broke the Liberty’s records for 3-pointers in 2016. Epiphanny Prince and Swin Cash probably deserve a mention too.
Even Laimbeer, a coach known first for his storied playing career who spent the last five years building the Liberty to a formidable competitor, would be worth a mention.
Whether Dolan ever cared about the Liberty as a team doesn’t really matter — he’s a businessman and sports are a business. For Dolan, it’s all just a bunch of numbers on spreadsheets.
But he — or the staff that wrote the release — could have done better in the first farewell. Because Isiah Thomas didn’t build the franchise.
Women did the work long before — and after — he got there.
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