ATLANTA — The Atlanta Dream suspended WNBA scoring leader Angel McCoughtry indefinitely on Tuesday for violating team rules.
Dream spokeswoman Tonya Allene said that new coach and general manager Fred Williams told McCoughtry before a game against Tulsa that she was suspended.
It was unclear if McCoughtry’s feuding with former coach-GM Marynell Meadors, who was fired on Monday, played a role in Williams’ decision.
More on Liz Cambage’s decision not to return to the Shock this season:
“I did not have any inkling that this would happen until this morning when I spoke to her agent,” (team president Steve) Swetoha said by phone Tuesday afternoon. “She said, ‘She’s fatigued, and if you don’t mind, she’d like to take the rest of the summer off.'”
If they don’t mind? Heck, why would they mind? She’s just the Shock’s No. 2 draft pick from 2011 around whom they are hoping to build the franchise. Tulsa has been marketing her return for Thursday’s home game against the Los Angeles Sparks ever since the London Games ended.
Well, so much for that promotion. But the thing is, Swetoha really didn’t sound angry … more just tired, a little sad and frustrated. And yet, not to the extent of saying anything negative about Cambage, nor the Shock’s prospects for the future.