Storms Loyd Seeks Trade After Complaint – A once proud championship franchise will have to rebuild. Jewell Loyd, a six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time champion, reportedly requested a trade from the Seattle Storm on Wednesday after the organization ended its investigation into bullying allegations.
Loyd filed the complaint against Storm staff members alleging bullying and harassment at the work place, ESPN reported. The organization said an investigation could not find any violations from Storm coaches.
“The Storm recently received internal allegations of potential workplace policy violations,” the team told the outlet in a statement. “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.
“To protect the integrity of the process, and to preserve confidentiality, we chose not to comment while the investigation was ongoing. The Storm will continue to provide a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect.”
The Chicago Sun-Times initially reported the complaint in November.
The Storm selected Loyd with the No. 1 overall pick in 2015 out of Notre Dame. She won WNBA Rookie of the Year honors that season and quickly rose up the ranks, becoming one of the centerpieces and leaders for the team alongside Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird.
Loyd even became one of the faces of the league as a whole, appearing in a popular State Farm commercial during the 2024 campaign. She won titles with the Storm in 2018 and 2020 and emerged as the focal point of the team once Stewart took her talents to New York to play for the Liberty and Bird retired.
Last season, Loyd averaged 19.7 points and 3.6 assists per game. Any trade would be box office for the team that lands her.
The Storm have not been stable as far as coaches are concerned and has had four since Loyd’s arrival in 2015; Jenny Boucek, Dan Hughes, Gary Kloppenburg and Noelle Quinn.
The bullying and harassment allegations stemmed from points in the 2024 season with Quinn in charge, according to the Sun-Times. Quinn remains the head coach going into the 2025 season.
And…
Sun Hire Coach Meziane of Belgian National Team – Just mere hours after announcing a new general manager Morgan Tuck, replacing Darious Taylor, the Connecticut Sun have hired Rachid Meziane as the franchise’s next head coach.
Meziane, a native of France, replaces Stephanie White, who left the team in October after two seasons to become head coach of her hometown Indiana Fever.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rachid as the new head coach of the Connecticut Sun,” said general manager Tuck in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience, passion, and a proven track record of success that will help elevate our players and team as a whole. Rachid’s dedication and commitment to growing women’s basketball, internationally and domestically, brings a unique perspective both on and off the court that aligns with the values and vision of our organization. We look forward to the future under Rachid’s leadership and are excited for the positive impact he will have on our team and community.”
Meziane, 44-years-old, had been coaching French women’s side ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq since 2019 where he captured the league title in 2023-24 and led the team to a second-place finish during this past season’s EuroLeague.
Meziane also served as head of video analysis for the French women’s national team from 2014-21 and later guided Belgium to a gold medal at last year’s FIBA European Women’s Championship.
During his time in France and Belgium, Meziane had plenty of experience coaching experience with several players who are currently in the WNBA; Kennedy Burke, Shavonte Zellous, Emma Meesseman, Julie Vanloo and Carla Leit.
The Sun are coming off a 28-12 season where they finished four games behind the eventual WNBA champion New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference. In their consecutive season making the playoffs, they were eliminated in the league semifinals for the second straight year.
As stated previously, on Tuesday, the Sun announced that Tuck is the team’s new GM, replacing Darius Taylor, who will take on the new roles of chief basketball strategist and director of scouting.
