The Phoenix Mercury are set to play the Golden State Valkyries on Friday night in the second of a back-to-back following Thursday's 83-61 loss to the Aces in Las Vegas. Mercury star Satou Sabally took issue with the WNBA's schedule after the game, sharing her honest thoughts on the situation.
“Terrible. It's like they don't care about players' safety,” Sabally said of the WNBA schedule, via Hayden Cilley of ClutchPoints. “It's like they don't care about scheduling or whatever. I only mentioned that one time at the beginning of the season. I know people always love to come and say, ‘Oh, you guys want to get paid more, you guys need to play all these games,' but at some point, there's a sports science to it.
“It's honestly just like game on game on game. So we play tomorrow, and we're professional, and we'll do it.”
Sabally's comments caught the attention of Patrick Beverley — who most recently played at the NBA level during the 2023-24 season. Beverly shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, to respond to Sabally. Although he said he agrees that WNBA players should get paid more, Beverley made his thoughts extremely clear when it comes to the subject of back-to-backs.
“Alright now, come on now… Y'all had me, W had me,” Beverley said. “These ladies deserve more money, but come on, man. You gotta play back-to-backs. You got to. It's part of it… I'm all with it, but don't lose me there now.”
Sabally often shares her brutally honest opinions on matters. She is not afraid to say exactly what is on her mind. Her comments on the WNBA's schedule will likely catch the league's attention.
It will be interesting to see if the WNBA decides to make adjustments to the schedule at some point down the road.
