Los Angeles Sparks wing Rickea Jackson missed three games in May under the concussion protocol. She returned for losses to the Lynx and Dream, making as many fouls and turnovers as points.
Jackson took time off, citing personal reasons. Los Angeles coach Roberts said: “Rickea is a big part of our organization and our team. She’s taking personal time, and we support her. We’re excited to get her back when she’s ready.”
There followed pregnancy rumors on the Internet — which Jackson might have fueled herself — and the removal of her team affiliation on a social media profile.
It’s the second that’s genuinely troubling, because 1) it’s evident, and 2) athletes do such things when one foot is out the door.
For one of Jackson’s feet to be out the door, it means the Sparks front office is working without Roberts’ knowledge, because as far as I know in 18 years of experience, Coach Roberts has never fed the media a load of crap.
Whether Jackson’s relationship with the team is or isn’t truly kaput, Los Angeles doesn’t need this sort of nonsensical distraction, because they’re not very good (and worse, not even interesting).
The Internet has already fired Coach Roberts. I wondered how long that would take if the Sparks got off to a bad start, and the answer is: Two weeks. The Internet also traded Jackson to Indiana for a bag of laundry (and that’s one of Los Angeles’ problems in this mess: If Jackson has to go, the Sparks can’t expect decent value in trade).
Roberts and Dallas coach Koclanes are both fired on the Internet, though perhaps the Internet will rehire them after their teams get healthy (did the league’s TV ratings dive last week, since a typical 12-year-old white girl can name two basketball players, both benched with injuries?).