Storm give first comments since Jewell Loyd alleged mistreatment

SEATTLE — In their first public comments since Jewell Loyd’s allegations of player mistreatment by the Storm coaching staff and a trade demand that sent her to Las Vegas Aces, Storm general manager Talisa Rhea and coach Noelle Quinn said the team is moving forward and focused on the upcoming WNBA season.

Rhea said the Storm have “officially turned the page to 2025, (which) is now only a couple months away from the start of the season.”

When asked about the turbulent and transformative offseason, Quinn added: “It’s been a learning experience and honestly, I’m super excited about 2025.”

Quinn came under fire when Loyd alleged harassment and bullying by the coaching staff, and was cleared of any wrongdoing following an independent investigation.

“The Storm recently received internal allegations of potential workplace policy violations,” the team said in a statement released Dec. 4. “The organization retained an outside investigator to conduct an impartial investigation into the allegations. The investigation has been completed and there were no findings of policy violations or any discrimination, harassment, or bullying.”

For months, the Storm declined media requests and have been silent about Loyd’s allegations until Tuesday’s Zoom call intended to talk about the team’s recent free-agent acquisitions.

In the past two weeks, the Storm re-signed Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams while bringing back fan favorite Alysha Clark and adding Lexie Brown and Erica Wheeler.

Still, it remains to be seen if the additions offset the loss of losing Loyd, a six-time WNBA All-Star who helped the Storm to league titles in 2018 and 2020.

“Jewell meant a lot to this organization,” Rhea said. “She built a lot with us here. Noelle and I have been a part of a couple championships with Jewell. This is not to take away anything that Jewell did during her time here with Seattle, and we’re very appreciative for that.

“We’re excited with how the roster has moved forward, and excited for this year and what we were able to do with that trade.”

During a three-way deal that involved the Los Angeles Sparks, the Storm received the No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft in April, the Aces’ first-round pick in 2026 and Sparks backup center Li Yueru.

Rhea didn’t provide much insight into when the relationship between Loyd, the Storm’s No. 1 pick in 2015 and third all-time leading scorer, and Quinn became irreparable.

Rhea said she supports Quinn, who has a 74-68 regular-season record and is 3-6 in the playoffs since taking over six games into the 2021 season.

“We let the process play out and that was very important to us and the integrity of that process,” Rhea said about the investigation into Loyd’s claims. “Second, we’ve been locked in with Noelle this entire offseason, and it’s been very clear through our free agency conversations that players do want to be here.

“They believe in what we’re building here in Seattle. They want to play for Noelle. The group that we have here is totally bought into that. So, we’re very confident in Noelle and what she’s able to do with this group this year.”

Quinn, who signed a multiyear contract extension with the Storm in 2023, said assistant and associate general manager Pokey Chatman and assistant Ebony Hoffman are returning to her coaching staff next season. Assistant Perry Huang left last October to take the same role with the South Bay Lakers in the G-League.

“I believe that the organization did the right thing. Throughout this entire process, the communication level was tremendously high,” Quinn said. “I felt supported in a lot of ways, and I know my staff felt supported as well. With anything like this, it is important to take the right steps, and our organization did that. And moving forward, showing that we have built a tremendous roster of players who want to come and play for me, my staff and wants to be a part of this organization.

“It will show the fans everything that they need to know about myself and about what we’re building around Seattle. This is a top-notch organization, an organization that stands for excellence and integrity, and I lead in that way, and I want to continue to exemplify that as well.”

Around the WNBA, seven of league’s 12 teams from last season fired or parted ways with their head coaches, including the Atlanta Dream (Tanisha Wright), Chicago Sky (Teresa Weatherspoon), Connecticut Sun (Stephanie White), Dallas Wings (Latricia Trammell), Indiana Fever (Christie Sides), Los Angeles Sparks (Curt Miller) and Washington Mystics (Eric Thibault).

The 40-year-old Quinn is the second-longest tenured coach in the WNBA behind Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

“I strive to lead with integrity and that will never change within me,” Quinn said. “I will continue to do so. I will continue to represent myself, my family and the organization at the highest level that I can. I’m constantly working on myself, constantly growing as a leader and constantly trying to get better. I will continue to do that. I will lean heavily on my staff … to do this as well. And growth is not linear. I’m not a finished product. I’m going to continue to grow and lean on my experiences to help me.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about changing, it’s evolving, and I’m going to continue to do whatever necessary to be the best version of myself that I can be. Yes, I learned a lot, but I also learned that I have a lot of support. I have a great support system. I’m super grateful for our owners, super grateful for our leadership group, and I will continue to lead in a way that is admirable to those guys.”

Note

The Storm will start the 2025 season with a May 4 exhibition against the Connecticut Sun at Climate Pledge Arena.

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