Chicago Sky fire head coach Teresa Weatherspoon after 1 season; Angel Reese 'heartbroken'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Sky have fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, the team announced Friday.

Many Sky fans are shocked about the firing of Weatherspoon. The common sentiment ABC7 heard is that she just wasn't given enough time.

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"No! They just hired her! So I was not expecting that at all," fan Diana Clark said.

Diana and Earl Clark are season ticket holders and huge Chicago Sky fans. They were not happy about the news that head coach "TSpoon" has been fired.

"They didn't even give her an opportunity to show what she could do for the team," Diana said.

Chicago Sky co-owner and operating chairman Nadia Rawlinson said, "After careful consideration, we have decided it is in the best interest of the organization to part ways with Head Coach Teresa Weatherspoon," Rawlinson said. "We are deeply appreciative of Coach TSpoon's contributions to the Chicago Sky, and the energy and passion she brought to the head coaching role. We thank her for inspiring a competitive, resilient spirit across the team, synonymous with Chicago Sky basketball. We remain steadfastly committed to being a playoff and championship contender every year, and we will be embarking on a thorough search for our next head coach. TSpoon will always be a part of the Skytown family, and we wish her the very best."

Angel Reese has posted to X that she is "heartbroken" by the firing.

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"I'm heartbroken. I'm literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life," Reese wrote. "You were the best reason & season. You didn't deserve this but I can't thank you enough. I love you Tspoon."

The news comes as a huge surprise; the Sky were on the verge of making the playoffs until Reese and others went down. They ended up in last place in their division.

ABC7 caught up with other fans who were also taken aback.

"It was definitely pretty shocking," Sky fan Eleanor Timmerman said. "I had a fun time watching this season and enjoyed the coach interacting with the players, so, surprised to see her go."

So what went wrong here? Annie Costabile, a Chicago Sky beat reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, weighed in.

"teresa was hired less than a year ago and dealt with an injured roster throughout the year," Costabile said. "The question is was she given enough time? The realistic answer is no. But there's layers to it right, because this year was not a success for the sky and a lot of that does fall on the coaching. But the other part is sky ownership knew who they hired. They knew they were hiring an inexperienced head coach."

Cosabile said during her coverage of the sky, she did notice a disconnect between some players and the coaching staff.

"The dysfunction is compounded by a losing record," Costabile said. "You failed to make the playoffs since 2018. I think this is the franchise's attempt to right their direction, which ownership very much set them on."

Diana and Earl Clark said whoever ends up being the new head coach, the Sky need to give the next person a real chance.

"You have to be patient with them," Earl said. "And there was no patience afforded for her."

The Chicago Sky said they are committed to being a playoff and championship contender every year, and they will be embarking on a thorough search for their next head coach.