Everything Ain't About You, Boo
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Listening to it again, just with her tone of voice. Oh my God. The whole thing is just like, I want to bring out the smallest violin. This is Queens of the Court. What's up, everybody? Welcome to Queens of the Court, an Odyssey original podcast produced in partnership with the WNBA. I'm so excited for this episode. I'm your girl, Cheryl Swoops.

And I'm Jordan Robinson. And court. And court. Is in session. Is in session. Let's go, let's go.

get it. We had some call outs on Twitter after the game. They were like, I can't wait for court to be in session. So you guys can talk about this one. Well, your wish is our command. We're going to talk about the Commissioner's Cup and all its glory in just a little bit. We have thoughts. We have questions. We have concerns. We have a lot of things.

A lot, a lot of things, but that's coming up first though. Cheryl, I know that you were at the hall of fame over the weekend over last weekend and Becky Hammond selected you and Teresa Witherspoon to induct her into the hall of fame, which seems like such a special moment. We have a clip. Let's roll it in. Cheryl, uh, you know, you you're up here because you were the female Michael Jordan, right?

And I was... We didn't have role models, so I had posters of Michael Jordan all over my wall. Spoon, I picked you because you're someone who's been with me from the start. You've been up here. And from those first days of you and Vicki Johnson giving me in my 90s-style bangs a beatdown in Liberty Training Camp...

to up here to the stage of basketball royalty. Thank you. It's been a crazy ride. Turns out I'm super grateful for those bumps and bruises you guys made me tough. You guys gave me, you made me tough. And I'm even more thankful that Carol Blaise-Jowski, when she asked you who you guys liked, you said, "That little white girl." We hit her hard and she bounced back up. I didn't know then, but it turned out I was going to need a lot of bounce back.

to end up here on this stage tonight. I love that so much. Tell me about it. How was it? There was so much laughter. There were tears. Like I just got teary eyed again, just listening to it. Listen, being in the hall of fame,

It's obviously special. I think as a kid growing up, well, for me, I never said, someday I'm going to be in the Hall of Fame, right? I didn't even know what that was. But when I look at my journey, my story ending up in the Hall of Fame and Spoon and Becky and so many others, but in this moment, like I understood Spoon being asked to be Becky's presenter. Right.

So for those who don't know, when you get inducted into the hall of fame, you have to choose a presenter and that presenter has to be someone who's currently in the hall. Right. So, well, for me, it was Fran hair, Fran, um, Judkins, but now there's someone who's taken her place. So they reach out and say, Hey, so-and-so. So she called me and said, Cheryl, Becky would love for you to be her presenter. And honestly, I was like,

me? She was like, yeah. Like she called and was like, I want Cheryl to be my presenter. And to me, that's an honor. So if you're, if you get asked and if you're able to do it, you do it. Um, but I had no idea why I understood spoon. They played together spoons like her big sister, like made total sense. So when I found out from Becky,

actually during all star had a conversation with her and she was just like thank you for doing it i was like i mean you're welcome but it's an honor i don't know why you chose me so she told the story of her dad taking her to a game but her dad watching me play and then he went back home and said to her he said listen you need to watch cheryl swoops play she is the female michael jordan of women's basketball so when becky said that the other night on the stage

Like, it's just different when you hear it right in front of everybody. But it was like so touching and such an honor for me. So, yeah, it was it was a great moment. It was a special moment. But I think Becky's story in itself, like undrafted. Yes. Undrafted to the Hall of Fame. And you end up in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Wow. Yeah.

Wow. Don't know how many people have that story, you know? And I even said this, I said this to Spoon and I said it to Becky, I said, because the Comets and the Liberty, we battle, right? Like we have battles. And Becky was, she was a big part of those battles. I just remember playing so many times and going to my teammates, whoever was guarding her. And I said, listen, do not let that little white girl hit another three.

That was a scouting report. That was mine. And it was one of those things, though, where when she walked in the gym or if you just saw her anywhere on the street, you would never think that she was a baller. And if she told you she was, you'd probably laugh and be like, yeah, okay, who do you play for? But I even posted this.

I tell people all the time, it doesn't really matter the size, right? It doesn't matter how tall you are, how big you are. What matters is your heart and the fight you have. Becky Hammond was one of the most fiercest competitors that I ever played against. And so for her to reach out and ask me to be her presenter was absolutely an honor for me.

I think that is the coolest part is her story of coming out of Colorado State and you think of the Hall of Fame and even just the WNBA, you have to go to this

Top, top UConn. You have to come and be a number one draft pick and you have to win a WNBA championship and do all of these checklist things. But anytime somebody talks about Becky Hammond, you hear that determination that sure will to be the best. And so it's not surprising that it's rolled over into her coaching style as well. But yeah,

You just see everything that she's done for the game, even on the NBA side. And, you know, because it's the Basketball Hall of Fame, what she's done for just basketball in general. But I'm sure that had to be cool for you after already being inducted. And now you just get to, you know, continue on this legacy of other women's

women basketball players and see them getting their orange coat. So I know that has to have just like a good feeling of like, okay, we can just continue the line. And then Becky will be able to induct someone else and this being able to do it that way. Well, you know that the, like, it's all really cool and it's interesting, but for me, when you get inducted, you don't really get to enjoy everything because you're being tucked and pulled in so many different directions. And plus it's the night you're giving your speech.

So for me, leading up to it, I was like so nervous about not so much what I was going to say because I knew what I wanted to hit on. But when you get into your thank yous, right, there's so many people who have played a crucial role in you being there. You don't want to forget anybody. So at first I was like, just do a big generic thank you to those people. But then I'm like, no, this is my moment. It's a special moment. Let me make sure.

those people who were special to me feel that in my speech. So it was such a great time watching the entire class. And this is the last thing I'll say about Becky's speech. There were two times I got emotional. That was the very beginning when she looked over at me and said what she said. And then when she started talking about pop,

So if you watched and you saw them put pop on the screen, like he was holding back tears and I was like, don't worry, I'll cry for you. That's what I do. But it was so powerful listening to her just

just talk to him about how grateful she was, right? She's like, I know you weren't trying to be a hero or courageous when you hired me, but bottom line is you did something in men's professional sports that no one has done. So yeah, in a way you were courageous because you had no idea how that was going to turn out, what was going to happen. But that moment between the two of them was so, it was so special.

Although the room had tens of thousands of people in it, it felt like it was just those two in that room in that moment. It was so powerful and so beautiful to watch. And it just spoke to the opportunity. Because someone, Coach Pop, gave her the opportunity, she was able to shine. And she's continuing to shine. And I think there's so many women who are trying to break through and...

a lot of different careers just saying, give me the opportunity. I'm sure I can do great. And that's what Becky needed. And that's what she got. And coach pop is, and he continues to hire women onto his staff. Candace Dupree is on his staff, I believe now. Yep. Um, and that is because he started off with Becky Hammond as well. Um, I love it. I love it. Shout out to her.

Congratulations to the whole class. You mentioned Dwyane Wade and his outfit changes. He was like, you ain't gonna catch me slipping in not one of these photos. I was, listen, I was like, dang, why didn't I think of that when I got inducted? Um, cause I was too worried about my speech. So that was other thing, right? There were at least four outfit changes for Dwyane Wade. Respect. Like,

Like, I'm not mad at him about it. I'm just like, dang, I wish I would have thought of that. Because now when you go back and he looks at the pictures, like he's going to have so many pictures in four different outfits. Lots of options. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that was great. But the way he ended out because he was last, the way he ended out the show and his speech by bringing his dad on stage. Oh, my gosh. I started crying. That like sealed the deal for me.

And I guess if you kind of know the history or the backstory of his family and his relationship with his dad and all of that. Yeah, his wife was there, mom was there, entire family. But that moment when he brought his dad on stage was...

That was powerful. So special. It's just the time we kind of talked about this with the draft. Like you're just able to see people's dreams come into a reality and all their hard work. It just bubble up to this moment and you can't help, but just get emotional just as a sports fan, as a fan of humans. Like it was, it was powerful, very powerful. Yeah. I mean the basketball hall of fame, that's,

That's every child's goal or dream. It's not the Women's Hall of Fame, the Men's Hall of Fame. It's just the Hall of Fame. It's the best of the best. And so it doesn't get any better than that. I love to see it. I love being a part of it. And such a great class. God, it was a great class. It felt more like the San Antonio Spurs class, but...

No, it was a great class. And it's the tag that goes with you forever. Hall of Famer, Cheryl Swoops. Like, we will always call you that. And now we got to sit down with Becky, too. Call me HOF. Call me HOF. Oh, okay. HOF. Yeah.

Got it. It's like DDS. Yeah, just HOF. HOF. Okay, well, we're going to talk more about the HOF, Becky Hammond and her team and the Commissioner Cup with this HOF show too after the break. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment.

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All right, welcome back to the Queens of the Court. So we are recording this on Wednesday because we wanted to make sure that we watched the Commissioner's Cup game that was Tuesday night on Amazon Prime. You know, a little anticlimactic, a little bit, a little bit. New York cruised

to an 82-63 victory over the Aces. Jonquil Jones was MVP. I know we're gonna talk more about that performance and just how great she has been this season. But this was the first championship

of any kind, of any caliber, brought back to New York. So this was a huge deal. And it came with a little money, $30,000 for each player in the win. Let me just pause right there. Cheryl, if there was one game where you could have won $30,000 in your time, how many points would you have dropped to make sure you got that money? Listen, I'm not coming out of the game. Like,

To some people, they may be like, oh, $30,000. No, it's $30,000 per player to the winning team. And the losing team got $10,000, which ain't too shabby. Not too bad. But it's so much stuff that I sit back and I say, man, I wish, I wish, I wish. I wish we had a Commissioner's Cup game back in the day. Oh, my God. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. Oh, yeah. It's just an extra motivation. Here's the thing.

Here's the thing. So for some players and I'm not in anybody's pocketbook, but like a Stewie, a Sabrina, that's probably like pocket change. Right. But for players who Sabali, she's a rookie. Yeah. You just got an additional $30,000, which is almost as much as her salary. Right. Even

I don't know, like Kayla Thornton, Willoughby. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm so happy for all of them. But when you start talking about the money, I look at those players and I'm like, good for you. Girl, go get me a handbag. I'm like, can I hold $20? So the game- South Jordan, I'm sorry. That in itself is enough motivation for you to just want to go out there and ball.

Oh, yeah. Right? It helps. It's a little cushion. I don't know if I saw that from the Aces last night. But we can get into all of it. That's what I want to talk about. So the game itself. Here's my overview. First of all, I lit my burnt wax Asia Wilson candle. I was just gifted some Stewie stuff.

from Puma. I had those out on display. I was trying to balance the synergy between the two in my home. But it felt like at the beginning that

The aces came out as if, okay, we can't get blown out again. Like they were really hesitant, not really taking initiative. And then it felt like New York was like, okay, the aces are going to come out because they don't want to get blown out again. So we need to be really on the defensive end. And they were just like,

I don't know. They were stuck in the mud at the beginning. They were trying to fill each other out. But then it kind of carried on throughout the entire game because nobody really went for it. The New York Liberty really turns it up.

Third quarter, fourth quarter. But that's what it was. It was like, we're scared to get blown out again. We know that you're going to come out stronger. So we're kind of in the mix. I don't know. That was like my first gut reaction as the score was 0-0 for a very long time. Forever. There was definitely a lid on the basket. Yes. Listen, I got to say this. And we talked about it in the beginning. And we questioned...

Like where does Benaja Laney fit with this team? Where does John Quayle Jones fit with this team? Is she hurt? I'm going to say this based off of the last few performances by John Quayle Jones by JJ. I think she was injured. Yeah. Because she has come out and not just against the aces, her last like four or five games. Like she's balling. She is balling. And I don't,

When JJ decides to really play and get off the three-point line and get in the paint, like she's tough to guard. I don't know if there is a single center, a single post player in this league right now that can guard her when she is in the paint. Like she's tough and she reads the defense well, makes great passes, makes great plays. Personally,

I think I think I thought there were two people who made a difference in that game last night. Or three, I'm going to say three. JJ for sure. Yes. Um, Johannes when she came in that first quarter, knocking down threes. Listen, I'm a fan. I've said this. I've said it. I've said it. She needs to have more minutes. That kid can flat shoot the basketball.

Right. So those two for the Liberty. Yeah, I know Sabrina shot the ball well, especially in the second half, in the second half. But those two players for the Liberty, I felt made a difference. And not having Candace Parker for the Aces made a difference again. Yeah. When I say there's no post player in the league today that can guard JJ, Candace Parker is in the game.

Candace Parker is at least going to make it tougher on her. Like JJ's not Asia's matchup. Right. Asia needs to be able to defend a four, right? And with the lack of size that the aces have at that position, you're forcing Asia, you're asking Asia to do a lot, to score on the offensive end and then come down and guard JJ, right? Because I know Kia Stokes started out on her. That's not it.

The Aces miss so many things about Candice Parker. Her leadership, her basketball IQ, her ability to defend, her ability to score the basketball. Yeah. No, it was good. JJ finished. She got the MVP. She finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds. Her 11th double-double this season, which is incredible. You mentioned Johannes. She went four for five from G. Shoot it. I mean, it was just...

She is a microwave player. She has so much finesse to her game. And it's like, okay, I made my first one. The next time I get this ball, it's going up.

And it's like the confidence just oozes out of her. And it is so much fun to watch. Like she is somebody who I tell, if you are new to the WNBA, watch Johannes. Watch Green Johannes and you will love the W. You will love women's basketball because how she plays the game. I feel like she was able to display that. But to your point, Cheryl, when she was making those threes, I was like, did she even play the last time?

Like, did they, did she play the first time? Like she doesn't really remember get that rhythm, but I know the last time it was Sabrina that was on fire and hot. So they just traded off this game, but Sabrina hit two back-to-back threes that I think were really crucial, a crucial point and like a gut punch to the aces because they were from way long range. One should have been an and one and,

And I think that was like, okay, the air was just sucked out of the building. And I'm like, this was the building that she just won the three-point contest in. So you brought her back here. She was very comfortable. Very comfortable in that spot. Yeah.

you know, the Jackie young led the aces with 16 points, Kelsey plum and Chelsea gray had 15 Asia didn't score in the second half and finished with nine. Again, 33% from the field for the aces. Wasn't, it wasn't great, but New York, uh,

I think that was a testament to their defense. Just seemed like they wanted it more. I think they wanted to prove that the last game wasn't a fluke. Yeah. That they can win. And now they own the series 2-1 on the season. So can I give you a little bit of my analysis from watching the game last night? Please. I don't think we've talked enough. Not you and I, just we, the public. Talked enough about...

the Liberty's defense. Right? Individually, I don't think they have the best one-on-one defenders. But collectively as a team, their rotation, they get after it. And their defense right now is so good. So without even getting into Asia's stats from the previous game and last night, here's me as a former player talking to Asia Wilson.

everybody knows Asia is left-handed and Asia loves going left. She loves finishing with her left hand. So the Liberty, they just sit on that left hand, right? So anytime she starts going right, they don't even try to stop her because they know she's going to come back left. So at one point you, JJ was guarding her and JJ's bigger than Asia.

So Asia struggles scoring over bigger post players like JJ, right? So JJ's there and then you bring Stewie. So now you're having to score over JJ and Stewie. And when her shot's not falling from the perimeter, which it wasn't doing last night, she has to try and get in her bag, which is attacking the basket, getting to the hole, going left, and

And they weren't letting her get to her bread and butter last night. And then when that's not happening and your guards aren't shooting the ball very well, you're in for a long night. Not to mention this. Those starters, with the exception of Kia Stokes, because Becky brought in Alicia Clark really early. Really early, yeah. But those four, Asia...

Jackie, Kelsey, and Chelsea. They're asked to do a lot, but they have to play big minutes because the Aces don't have a very deep bench. Compared to New York,

Yeah. Right. You have Johannes coming in off the bench, who was the leading scorer for them last night with 17. And then you have Stephanie Dolson, who's coming back off injury, but Steph's going to come in. She's going to rebound. She's going to defend. She can give you a few points every now and again, but let's not forget Kayla Thornton. Like Kayla was big time when she was in Dallas and now for the Liberty, Kayla is playing very well for the Liberty. So that's three players right there that the Liberty can bring in off the bench, give their starters rest.

And the Aces don't have that. You bring Alicia Clark in off the bench for Kia Stokes, but then where do you go from there? Mm-hmm. Right? Like, Bell plays a few minutes. Sid comes in at the end of the game. Kayla George. Like, that's, again, why I say they greatly miss Candace Parker. Mm-hmm.

So I don't know how you fix that in a day. Don't they play tomorrow? They do play tomorrow. Right. I don't know how you fix that in a day. Signing someone for seven days. Right. But that was very, like I knew the roster, but that was very apparent to me last night when I really just sat and watched the game. And I was like, the bench play to me is a big difference. That's true.

That's what a lot of people say. That's probably the ace is Achilles heel is not having a deep bench. The argument up until this point has been, well, we don't need a bench if all of our starters are all stars and shooting lights out. But it's the question of when that starts.

and off night and the off chance that it happens, who do you go to? Do you have that firecracker off of the bench? That's going to have a life out game. But John Cole Jones did a sideline interview, you know, during the game. And she said the game plan was to pack the paint and

And once she said that, I was just noticing that it was a swarm. Like every single time you try to get it into Asia, three people are there. Then you have to try to figure it out when it is. And when aces are rolling, she kicks it out. Kelsey Plum's draining that three or Alicia Clark is draining that three. But when that's not happening, you say, okay,

If you're Asia Wilson, you're like, dang, the whole game plan is to soar me and pack the plane. And it's stopping the driving too. The guards weren't able to get them off the dribble. You saw a couple of times Jackie Young with that killer in and out move. She's so good at that, but then she gets stopped. Like she gets there and then she's like, I don't have anywhere to go. Let me dribble it back out. So the New York game plan was executed to a T of let's pass.

the paint and just live and die by the three. It's risky because if you just say we're going to live and die, it came out on top this time, but

I got to give it up to them. They are probably on cloud nine. Not only do they win money, they bring the first championship back to New York and they are saying, this is the team y'all saying was going to beat us. Like we've beat them twice and we feel really good about it. Yeah. You talked, you talked about the trophy. You talked about the money. Let's not get it twisted.

both teams are also talking about MVPs. Yes. Right? New York, everybody on that squad is saying Stewie is MVP. Everybody on the Aces is saying Asia's MVP. So you know both of them are going out saying we got to get this win for Stewie. We got to get this win for Asia. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Because to me, I think that's how they're going to determine who wins MVP, whoever wins this series. I don't know. I'm just saying that.

But that is the conversation that's being had. Trust me when I tell you that. But in between the last time they played against each other, each of those players had had 40-point games. I think that is.

Also the wildest part. Like now when we get to the matchup and we're like, please drop 40 on each other. I know we're not going to give you all that. No. Like I need that. I need that in my life. Right. I don't know. Tomorrow's going to be interesting. Yeah. They got to do it again. How did the ACE? I mean, this is, I don't know if it's an entirely different conversation, but if the Liberty go up three, one,

on the series of playing the aces you have to think it's I don't know I also hope just the basketball gods will align the playoff bracket so that they play against each other in the finals I think that's gonna happen so it's like okay now we're gonna have a break and then we'll be able to see it play off you know when it really matters but

I don't know. You talk about coming back tomorrow, right? You have a day in between. You got to give players rest. So there's not a lot of time for adjustments. On the Liberty side, your game plan worked perfectly fine, right? So you know the Aces are going to try to make some adjustments offensively. But on the Aces side, defensively,

Like you got to guard somebody. Yeah. You got to guard somebody. So does Becky switch up how she defends JJ and send some type of a light double? I don't know, because who are you going to double off of? Right. When you look at the starters with Sabrina, Stewie, Sloot and Benaja.

You know, she did 11 and 11 points, 10 assists. God point slew running the point for any team is scary. Yeah. She, and I've said this before, slew to me,

My two top point guards in the league right now are Chelsea Gray and Courtney VanderSloot. Not necessarily in that order. It's just those two, right? But if I'm the aces right now, their staff, you've got to change something up defensively. And have some pride. Just guard somebody one-on-one. Yeah, we talked about that. Yep. This is what Becky Hammond had to say.

Post game, she said, but coach Becky Hammond, she said, bottom line is our defense has had some slippage probably in the last 10 games. New York's defense has gotten better before that. That was a separation factor for us. I ask a lot of our big four night in and night out. And when they're not flowing or hitting shots, it gets real tough. That's a perfect summary of exactly what we just said.

No, it's true. That is exactly what we said. It's tough. And I think she knows that. But yeah, I'm just looking at this box score that we have here. And the Marine Johannes 17 points in 14 minutes is an insane stat. That is... She was the leading... She was the leading scorer and played the fewest minutes.

Out of starters. She played 14 minutes and was the leading scorer.

Shout out to her. Shout out to her. Also the stat by ESPN. The three matchups between Las Vegas and New York have been decided by an average of 24.7 points. That's the second highest margin between any teams that have met multiple times this season. So we're not going to get... I just want a close game. Can we get an overtime? Can we get a buzzer beater? They're just not going to give it to us. That's crazy when you think about that. Right? I know, right? That's insane. Well...

We have this conversation one more time after they play again tomorrow. Yeah, if you're in those locker rooms pregame, what's your talk to the Liberty and what's your talk to the Aces? Quick pep talk. Me, the coach? Mm-hmm. Well, with the Liberty, it's, you know, yeah, we just beat them, right, the other day, but this is a different game. So we got to...

Let that one go and focus on this one. Again, I'll go back and say their game plan they had last night was spot on. So I'm not sure I change very much. I have some stuff in my back pocket just in case, you know, we need to make adjustments. But I say go do exactly what we did last night. If I'm the aces, it's very different.

It's first of all, defensively, we got to take some pride. We got to guard somebody. You have got to take, be accountable for yourself and guard your woman one-on-one. Help side, rotation, all that's got to be there. I just thought the entire game, especially the second half, the Liberty seemed to want it a little bit more than the Aces. And especially on your home court, that's unacceptable. That can't happen. And then I'm going to go to Asia. Listen,

Asia is my MVP, right? She is my current MVP. I'm going to go to Asia and say, Asia, you got to find a way. Like, I don't have the answer, but you have got to find the way to make it happen. We rely on you. We count on you. We need you. You're an MVP. You got to go play like an MVP. All right, coach.

Put me in. I'm ready, coach. I'm ready, coach. All righty. Let's go. Okay. I like that pep talk. We will see how it all unfolds. That's tomorrow. Again, on Amazon Prime, Aces, and Liberty. We're going to take a quick break, but when we come back, we got some tea for the tweet of the weeks, I guess we're going to call it. It's really a culmination of these past couple weeks. We'll be right back.

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Okay, welcome back to the Queens of the Court. And we have, I guess it is the tweet of the week, but it's also just the story of the past few weeks that we haven't had a chance to talk about, but we have been chomping at the bit to talk about. And that is this whole Liz Cambage saga, because it does feel like a dramedy.

a drama comedy because there are some funny elements to these wild things that she's been saying but there's just so much drama and there's multiple layers of the drama but one layer we're going to focus on is her kind of throwing the los angeles sparks under the bus

And she did a 90 minute interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks. I did not watch the whole thing. I don't think you did either, Cheryl, because that's... I couldn't. That's a long time. I just couldn't. I saw enough. So during that conversation, Liz Cambage discusses, among other things, why she left the Sparks last season. Here's the clip that got a lot of people talking.

Playing in the WNBA was July of last year with the Sparks. Can you walk me through that day? I was warming up for the game. I remember being on court and just like a few disrespectful teammates yelling at me because they don't know how to throw a lob pass to me in the post. You're saying Sparks teammates. Yeah. I'm just like, I'm really dealing with...

like girls just yelling at me 'cause they're frustrated with how they don't know how to throw the ball to me. Our coaching staff doesn't wanna teach them like how to use a post player like me. I remember running down the court and a girl that was like a really frustrated me in Vegas while I was there, like stepped in front of me and took a charge as I'm like running down. I was like, okay, this is another straw on the camel's back. And then that was like another play

And this teammate of mine came up and was just like yelling at me again. I get subbed off. I sit on the bench, I sit down next to Shanae. I'm like, I'm done. Like, this is it. I'm done. Mind you, like we've had like a lot of issues throughout this season. Like coach got fired, GM got fired. A lot of players in and out. A lot of players injured and sick. I'm just like, I'm done. I have nothing to give anymore. Girl.

My facial expression right now is like, what? Listening to it again, just with her tone of voice. Oh my God. The whole thing is just like, I want to bring out the smallest violin possible because girl.

Taking charges is a part of basketball, one. And not knowing how to throw a lob pass from these professional athletes who have played with plenty of post players and were able to throw plenty of lob passes before, you're blaming them for not able to getting you the ball. And before you go off, Cheryl, I can see your face. I can see it.

The whole tweet, the quote tweet that really got people talking is Jordan Canada, who does not say anything ever. She is very quiet and doesn't get into anything. She is currently playing for the Sparks, and she was on this team last season. She tweeted, I usually keep to myself and mind my business, but Bleacher Report, if y'all want the all caps, real truth,

Call me with hashtag I wait I what I Y K Y K and the emoji with the Pinocchio lying nose. It's not good. It is. It's not good. Cheryl, speak on it. I don't even know where to start.

Let me just go back to, you know, I played with Liz one year in Tulsa. Like it was at the end of my career and it was the beginning of hers. And like, I tried, I tried like being a mentor, but also just with her being from Australia, you know, just welcoming her and just trying to be that vet for her. But I knew then, um,

that Liz is all about Liz, right? It's, I want to do things my way, the way I want to do them. And I don't really care about anybody else. And you know me, I'm like, cool. Like we're good. Never was disrespectful to me. Like never, ever, ever. But I knew then her career or her time in the W would be short-lived. Mm-hmm.

because the stuff that she was on, like that's not going to fly with, with the league, with players in the league. And to your point for Jordan Canada to tweet and comment, you know, there's more to the story there because Jordan doesn't do Jordan's quiet. Mine's her own business is all about her business is all about winning playing. No, I, that's probably all I listened to in that interview was the beginning of

Because it was so hard for me to take someone seriously who sounded like that in the interview. It was all about woe is me. Woe is me. Yeah, that was the theme. And then, you know, honestly, I was trying to figure out who that teammate was. She was like a teammate that I had in Vegas, took a charge while I was running down the court. I was really trying to figure out who that teammate was. Somebody she played with in Vegas who played with her in L.A.

I mean, she said Vegas was toxic and terrible too as well. She said people were kicking things of hers in the locker room. They were yelling at her and it was, she has done nothing wrong. She has said never a bad thing ever. That's kind of what I, what I took from it as well. I don't, I want to read this, which you probably were going to, but I want to read this because I, I kind of want to make a point. So Vegas,

from just women's sports. They put this out and said since being drafted in 2011, Cam Beige has played for 12 different teams, four in the WNBA and several overseas in China, Australia and Israel. She has never played consecutive seasons with one team. So when I read that, my first thought is,

So is it your teammates or is it you? Yep. Without even saying anything else. It just really, it frustrates me.

to sit here and listen to her, like trying to throw teammates under the bus, like GM got fired, coach got fired, players injured, players sick, players in and out. And I just decided I couldn't take it anymore. Well, everything ain't about you, boo. It's not. But when you become a professional athlete, that stuff happens. Coaches in and out, GMs in and out. At the end of the day, you're getting paid to do a job.

And if you're not being compensated what you feel you should be compensated, then just don't play. Like I'm just saying, go find something else to do. Don't be throwing everybody under the bus. Yes. Because that's to my knowledge. Why? My last thing. Right. And this is my last thing. And I'll let you go. Cause to my knowledge, no one is begging you to come back and play. Yeah. This. Yeah.

I think that's the thing of like if she had a lot of suitors...

And she's like, okay, let me just get the story out now. Let me say my piece so that I can come back into the league. But it doesn't seem like she said, I'm going to do this interview so that people can see the true side of me so that when I come back in the league, then everything's going to be peachy. Like, I just didn't know what the goal was with this interview now.

kind of in the middle of the season-ish. Like, it just, it didn't make a ton of sense, especially because of the disastrous exit that she not only made from the WNBA, but from the Australian national team. The Nigerian national team. Like, we didn't even get into that. We didn't even get into the video, the leaked footage that she was demanding be, um...

And then she released a statement saying, well, after you guys saw that, let me step back. Let me retrace my steps a little bit. I think she forgot what that video really looked like. Yeah, I think she forgot. But can I tell you, without getting into that, the interesting part to me in that video

First of all, I mean, she was elbowing and throwing bows, all of that. And then to walk off and say, I can't do this dirty, you know what? It looked like to me that was you. But here's the interesting part. When the girl from Nigeria had enough and just runs over and bomb rushes her, like not a single one of her teammates ran over to be like, let me help you or to get them off. Everybody was just like, oh, well.

Like my point is, what does that say about you when your own teammates aren't defending you?

That was wild. And the one teammate that went over to her, she was like, stop, just stop. To Liz. Like they just seemed like they wanted to play basketball. And there was this whole other thing that was happening. And that spoke volumes, volumes of how her teammates reacted to her in that situation. Again, we're not going to go down that rabbit hole, but

Watch the video. And so for those who may have watched it, because I had watched it all, but I just want to say, give a shout out to Alex, the one part we just saw. So if you just watch it, because now I feel like I need to go watch it. Because the last part, yeah, when Taylor Rooks asked her who her dream team would be, right, who she would like to play with. First, she's like, well, let's put a team in Miami, but let's expand the CBA, then expand the league, all of that. Y'all can go listen.

But here's what got me. Her teammates. She wants Skylar Diggins and Raquanna Williams. Those are the only two names that she could think of or wanted on her expansion team. Here's the thing. Skylar's not playing right now for whatever reason. Lots of reasons. I mean, I know she just had a baby. And Raquanna may not ever play again. But those are the first two players you pick to be on your team.

Yeah. And then herself as player GM and then trying to recruit some rookies. She doesn't want Kaitlyn. She doesn't want Kaitlyn Clark because Kaitlyn won't pass her the ball. Right. Kaitlyn doesn't know how to throw a lob.

It was pretty cringy to listen to. Y'all go listen to it, please. Because now I got to go listen to the whole thing. You've got my blood boiling over here. I will say, just to go back a little bit of her time at the Sparks, I found it interesting that she said that she was kind of fed this Hollywood lie that the organization offered to buy her a

car and pay her rent and cover other expenses as a part of her signing there. Was that in her contract?

I don't know if it was. I've never heard of that. I think it was her saying that's what she was told would happen. And then those things didn't happen. She was on $170,000 one year deal. And once she terminated her contract in February, she reportedly agreed to $141,000.

in that contract divorce. But I think my biggest issue, and we hinted at it a little bit, and I did another video for Buckets a little bit ago, kind of outlining her career so far. And she may be, what, 6'9",

And I think there are teams that are like, if I had a 6'9 player, this would be great for me right now. But the energy that she brings and the, it's really a quitter mentality to me. Like she talked about it in that clip. Yeah, this is too hard. I'm done. Yeah. Like this-

Someone took a charge on me. Some people are kind of yelling at me. This is too hard. I don't want to do this anymore. And like, you don't want to play with somebody like that because you know, when the going gets tough,

she is going to fold like a folding chair. And it's hard, especially in the W when there's so many games crammed into a schedule, you know that you're not getting paid the absolute most, but you're doing it for the love of the game. And you're trying to build your career and your resume. You need people surrounding you that are going to lift you up and want to go to battle with you. And Liz Kim,

Beige is not one of those people just flat out. And you see how every single time when the going got tough, she was out and Tulsa, she forced her way out in Dallas. She forced her way out the Vegas teams. She forced her way out Vegas before the Tokyo Olympics. She withdrew from the Australian team. And now the sparks like this has been a pattern of hers. And

And I feel like this interview did not help her case if she is trying to get back into the league that she hates and talks so terribly about. So I'm just not sure what her goal is. But to me, it's just been very eye-opening of I wouldn't want her on my team. I wouldn't want to play alongside her because I feel like when it got rough, when it got tough,

She's not, she's going to be like, no, she's not going to show up. I'm going to leave. Again, since being drafted in 2011, 12 different teams, four in the WNBA and several overseas. Like, I don't know, to your point, at six, six, eight, six, nine teams would typically be over a player like that. Yeah. Just for her size alone. Like,

no one should be able to do anything with you in the league. She does hold the scoring record with 53, I believe 53 points in one game. I think when that happened, I thought that that was going to happen more. I thought it was like, dang, she is dominant. This is what it's going to be. But I, I think the whole part of the off the court drama is,

Is that on the court, the production was not there. Like, for me as a Sparks fan, it was not there. And we could take everything else out of it. The production was not there for, and she's saying it's because they didn't know how to throw her the ball. But I think that there are other factors. I'll leave it with this. If I was 6'9", Cheryl Swoops, you would have inducted me into the Hall of Fame. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

if i was not five five i would be going into the hall of fame and um that's that's that on that i hope that uh yeah i hope jordan canada gets her 90 minute interview i would listen to that jordan come on the show we'll give you 90 minutes come on you can have the whole show i mean i don't know like you just

I'll end with this. Just be a good teammate, right? Just be a good person. You don't have to throw anybody under the bus to make yourself look good. Just do what you're paid to do. And if that's not enough money and if that's not what you want to do, just don't do it. You don't have to do it. Period. That's it. That's it.

Okay. Well, we'll see how that continues to unfold. Again, Aces and New York play on Thursday. We'll be watching that. Interact with us on...

on Twitter, your thoughts on that game. And keep sending us questions to our listener email, queensofthecourtatodyssey.com. Please continue to follow, rate, and review the show. We love your reviews. They make us smile. It's available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, y'all know where you can find us on social media. I'm at airsweeps22 and she, Jordan, is at

Jordan R. I gave you a little bit more today. Yeah, that was good. Queens of the Court is an Odyssey original created in partnership with the WNBA. The show is produced by Alex Ozzie. The executive producer is Lena Moss Glazer. Social media assistance from Isabella Apple. Imaging from T-Storm Battle. And court is the jam. The courtroom was spicy today. That was a good one. That was a good one. That was a good one. Woo!