Flying sneaker gets Liberty star ejected in bizarre finish that leaves WNBA fans in disbelief
You don’t see many games shaken up by a flying sneaker, but that’s exactly what happened in the WNBA on Sunday.
New York Liberty guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was eliminated after pinning opponent Marina Mabrey to the back with a stray shoe following a tough 93-91 loss to the Toronto Tempo.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s flying sneaker hit Marina Mabrey at an awkward moment during the Liberty-Tempo match. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
The flying sneaker couldn’t have come at a worse time, derailing New York’s furious comeback as the Liberty trailed by 16 points entering the fourth quarter.
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The chaos began late in the fourth quarter when Jonquel Jones lost his sneaker. Laney-Hamilton tried to pass the ball back to his teammate, but instead the ball hit the back of an unsuspecting Mabrey.
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Laney-Hamilton was already confusing Mabrey early in the game; including an exchange that earned him a Flagrant 1 foul.
When the shoe hit Mabrey, the referees hit Laney-Hamilton with a technical foul and ejected him from the game.
A faulty sneaker resulted in a bizarre ejection of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, flipping the script on the Liberty’s late rally against Toronto. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Laney-Hamilton defended himself after the final whistle, insisting it was nothing more than a terrible shot.
“I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially when they’re not looking,” Laney-Hamilton said. he said.
“My teammate didn’t have a shoe, so I did my best to get it to him. Unfortunately, he hit someone. By the way, I know things go a certain way throughout the game, but it’s not something I would do personally, especially when the game is at stake.”
A flying sneaker triggered Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s bizarre dash and spoiled the Liberty’s furious comeback against Toronto. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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Mabrey took the high road after the win and laughed off the fact that he got punctured by a flying sneaker.
“I had to take a few breaths,” Mabrey said. “But I think he was just trying to give the shoe back to JJ. But I’m going to take the free throw. I’m trying not to fall into the anger trap.”
While the players maintained their composure, Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco absolutely lost his mind over the game-changing whistle.
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“I’ve never seen anything like it,” DeMarco said. “We had all the momentum in the world. A shoe hit someone. It was thrown, free throws. And I’ve never seen a referee make such a brutal call when he was on the other side of the court. He was trying to get the shoe back to Jones; he hit someone. I guess we’re just making it up. I have no idea. You’re asking the wrong person, okay? This was just a disgusting, disgusting end to the game by the referees.”
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Forget the game ball. Someone has to protect those sneakers.
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