Teresa Weatherspoon isn't dwelling on surprising firing by Chicago Sky

 

[November 22, 2024]  By DOUG FEINBERG

Teresa Weatherspoon is focused on her future and not dwelling on the past.

It's been nearly two months since the Chicago Sky fired her as coach after just one season with the franchise.

“I’m excited,” Weatherspoon said on a conference call for her new team in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league. “The one thing about me is I process things, and I let it go. I process and I let it go.”

It was the first time that Weatherspoon spoke publicly since she was let go after a 13-27 season with the Sky, who recently hired Tyler Marsh to replace her.

“I can’t sit there. I can’t wonder why. I got to move,” Weatherspoon said. “This is my life, this is what I live to do. I love what I do."

She connected with Chicago's young star players Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter. Reese is playing in the fledgling 3-on-3 league, but not on Weatherspoon's team.

“And you got to know this, and you got to stand on this — you’re not for everybody. … And I’m OK with that. I know the things that I did, I know the things that I have to change. I know the things that I had to go through, and what I took through, and I will do that again over and over and over," she said. "And in the process, you always learn a lot of things about yourself. I’m about myself first, about me first. What I learned, what I carry but at the end of the day, I’m fine. I’m great. I’m awesome.”

Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon calls out to players during the first half of the team's WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty, May 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

A lot of Weatherspoon's role with the new league will be about player development. Something she's done at many of the stops along her coaching journey with the New York Liberty and New Orleans Pelicans.

Fellow Unrivaled coach Phil Handy, who spent time coaching with the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors, felt for Weatherspoon.

“Look, does it hurt? Is it disappointing? Is it frustrating? All of those things included, but T-Spoon is showing just like a lot of other coaches that … we got to carry on," he said. “And our love and passion for the game is what kind of continues to push us through even when you get through these pitfalls.”

Since being let go, Weatherspoon spent time watching the New York Liberty — a team she starred for when the WNBA first began — win their first championship. She was one of team's alumni who took part in the championship celebratory parade.

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