What Liberty newcomers have to say about teammates, franchise resources
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello knew Isabelle Harrison was a special talent more than a decade ago.
It's why the Mercury drafted Harrison No. 12 overall in the 2015 draft despite her being sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
A decade later, Brondello is still high on Harrison and says she could play an important role in helping the Liberty defend their 2024 title.
'It's great to have her back here,' Brondello said Monday. 'She can add another level to how we want to play.'
Harrison is just as excited about her reunion with Brondello as she is to be with a WNBA team filled with stars.
4 Liberty coach Sandy Brondello works with Isabelle Harrison during training camp at Barclays Center.
Michelle Farsi
Over the past few days, Harrison couldn't help but to feel inspired as she looked around the Liberty's practice court at Barclays Center.
She watches to see what Breanna Stewart is working on by herself and takes notes.
She's in awe of Sabrina Ionescu's pursuit to elevate her game and Jonquel Jones' desire to continue proving people wrong.
4 Breanna Stewart speaks to the media at Barclays Center at the start of training camp.
Michelle Farsi
'Being around players like Sab and Stewie, it just makes you rethink your game, truly, it pushes you to another level and you can never get comfortable,' Harrison said. 'Being around players like that, you just don't ever get comfortable because they don't do that.'
What's also helped Harrison with her transition to Brooklyn is how the Liberty have continued to deliver on everything they promised.
Harrison has played for four other WNBA teams, but never has she experienced first-rate support like she has in her first few weeks with the Liberty.
Some of the newcomers, including Natasha Cloud, have welcomed the Liberty's organization and regimented schedules. Harrison, though, appreciates the individualized attention to each player and what their specific needs may be.
4 Natasha Cloud (No. 9) looks up court during practice at Barclays Center earlier this week.
Michelle Farsi
She likes that there's no shortage of time on the training tables, which wasn't always the case at other teams. When she walks off the court after workouts, she's handed a protein smoothie made to her liking.
'You're just not spending your mental energy on what is the right way to do things,' Harrison said. 'There's people hired to do those things so you don't have to do more than what you should be doing. I'm here to play basketball … I feel appreciated and valued.'
Imagine how she'll feel when the Liberty open their $80 million practice facility in 2027.
'Jonathan [Kolb], the GM, he just puts it in the best words. He was like, 'You guys just worry about basketball and then we'll worry about everything else,'' Harrison said. 'And I think this is the first place where I have truly not only heard that, but seen it.'
4 Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb smiles while on stage during the Deep Blue Business of Women's Sport Summit in April.
Getty Images
Not every franchise has the resources the Liberty can provide. With other teams, Harrison said she did 'different jobs that were not my job.'
The disparity between the haves and have-nots has impacted free agency.
Knowing the reputation the Liberty have earned since Joe and Clara Wu Tsai bought the team in 2019 made Harrison's decision to come to New York an easy one.
'When [Brondello] asked if I was interested in New York, I was like, 'Hell yeah,'' Harrison said. 'I didn't hesitate coming here.'
Harrison is coming off a trying season with the Sky, who fired their head coach, former Liberty star Teresa Weatherspoon, after one season.
Harrison, who had knee surgery in 2023, didn't feel like she was quite 100 percent.
Two days into training camp, though, Harrison said she feels like she's back at full strength and is gearing up for what could be a big season.
'Mentally I'm in the best head space that I've been in a while honestly,' Harrison said. 'Being here and just seeing everybody want to genuinely be here, it's not like a fake smile anyone puts on. People really care to be here. … It just lets you know people enjoy what they do and that makes it easier for me to come in and do that as well.'
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USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Opinion: Is Caitlin Clark improving women's sports for the better or worse?
Opinion: Is Caitlin Clark improving women's sports for the better or worse? On a special episode (first released on June 2, 2025) of The Excerpt podcast: People from across the country weighed in on the impact Indiana Fever's point guard Caitlin Clark is having on the WNBA and women's sports in general. Forum is a series from USA TODAY's Opinion team that is dedicated to showcasing views from across the political spectrum on issues that Americans are starkly divided on. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@ Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Michael McCarter: Hello, and welcome to The Excerpt. Caitlin Clark is an athlete that has made more people pay attention to the WNBA. She had a record-breaking rookie season with the Indiana Fever last year. As the 2025 season kicked off last month, we asked, "Is there too much media coverage of Caitlin or too little? Has she changed women's sports for the better or made things worse?" I'm Michael McCarter. I lead the opinion sections of Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY. This is a special bonus episode of The Excerpt, highlighting a series from USA TODAY's opinion team called Forum. Here's what we heard from you about Caitlin Clark, the WNBA, and women's sports. Theresa Koster: I think Caitlin gets the right amount of coverage. For fans who may not have been paying attention, it may seem to be excessive, but I do think there's some great players across the WNBA and I'm really excited that the coverage seems to be getting a little bit better dispersed this year. Michael McCarter: This is Theresa Koster, a 58-year-old from Marietta, Georgia. She started watching WNBA games and learning more about the league's players because of her interest in Caitlin. Theresa Koster: I think Caitlin Clark is changing the WNBA and women's sports for the better. I think she has a natural ability to attract attention, and she has a unique ability to tell a story. She's very composed and she's often cited going back to the history with Title IX and the extent that the University of Iowa in particular championed it and calls back a lot of that support and activity that maybe a lot of people just aren't as familiar with. I think the WNBA's newfound popularity is here to stay. I think things fundamentally changed in the last four to five years. Just from a behavioral perspective, I think people started paying attention differently, but I think there's a more recognized acceptance of the WNBA, and you see that from all walks of life, including their counterparts in the NBA, that they respect the game and are helping lift up women's sports. I love volleyball and I've been happy to see all of the pro volleyball leagues get started in softball. I played softball all through high school, and softball, it's just fun, so it'll be fun to see that and hopefully see it catch up to what the attention that the WNBA has been getting. Michael McCarter: Anthony Sowinski is 68 and lives in Huntersville, North Carolina. He's a fan of Caitlin Clark and of her team, and he thinks that the level of play for women's basketball has soared over the last few decades. Anthony Sowinski: I believe Caitlin Clark is going to get as much coverage as the sports media and fans demand. The game she plays is so pure and she reminds me of Pete Maravich. She's like the female version of somebody new coming out, and if anything, she elevates every one of the players around her and they either get better or she exposes the fact that they can't handle what she is able to produce these days. When I was coaching basketball and reffing 30 years ago, it was horrible level of play. Frankly, nobody wanted to do women's games or it was considered whatever it was considered. I think as camps and interest and all that has occurred over the last few decades, the level of play has just gone up and up. It has a ways to go yet, but it has come a long way. Hopefully with the level of play and the interest, TV contracts get better, therefore women get paid more, but obviously she's going to make many, many more times in endorsements what she's going to make as a player, and that's very sad. But that will probably be the same kind of reflection that you can make on what NBA players used to make 30 years ago versus what they make now. If people took a look at women's softball a little more than they do, I think they'd find that really riveting as well. Those games are heavy right at the edge of your seat, especially at the level of play and how intensely competitive that is. Michael McCarter: In Naperville, Illinois, Ruth Anerino has been delighted by the rise in attention to women's sports in general. She's 78. Ruth Anerino: Even my neighborhood book club that has ladies older than I are chit-chatting about her, and the kiddos love her, and she's being very responsive to the kids. I'm concerned about kind of the roughhousing and the kind of acceptance of the tough plays, and also I'm concerned that the refs are not calling plays. She's hurt, she's out for two weeks, and some of the moving picks could be career-ending for these women athletes. Accidents will happen, but some of this stuff is not pure game. I played basketball in the old days in Iowa with three on three, couldn't cross the middle line, two dribbles, it was pure basketball, stop, reach, not like it is today. And I hope it stays more pure basketball. Caitlin kind of epitomizes the joy and the family and the faith and the philanthropic things. I mean, she's giving back a lot. That's what I think makes her appeal. She's just down to earth and caring about not herself. You hear her speak of gratitude, and that's really an important value right now, to really be compassionate and caring, and I hope she heals fast and gets back on the court. Michael McCarter: Julian Howard hails from Buffalo, New York. The 63-year-old thinks that the WNBA's newfound popularity will be short-lived, lasting only as long as Caitlyn plays. Julian Howard: I think Caitlin is changing the WNBA for the better, because the more attention that we can draw to women's sports and the more people that watch it and get interested in it, I think that's good not only for the WNBA, but for all of women's sports. It's always been a fairly popular league. Caitlin Clark has elevated the media attention to it. I don't know if it's here to stay. I would like it to be here to stay because I think there needs to be some good options to sitting on your couch and watching men's sports all weekend. The US women's national team in soccer certainly plays better soccer than the US men's national team, and certainly being good increases their visibility. So I think Caitlin Clark is a good player, people want to watch her play for the Indiana Fever. Now, whether that lasts or not, who knows? I mean, she's out with an injury right now. In fact, not only is she out, but I heard that they're having trouble selling tickets. So right now, the popularity of the Indiana Fever and any road game they play is based solely on Caitlin. Whether that lasts depends on whether she continues to play at the same high level. I think the biggest issue facing women's sports is the sexualization of women athletes, especially as it pertains to the uniforms that in many cases they are mandated to wear. And this affects women's track and field, it affects volleyball, it affects field hockey. If you watch women's beach volleyball at the Olympics, they're playing in bikinis, whereas the men are playing in board shorts and T-shirts. I know a couple of my daughter's friends quit the volleyball team because they weren't comfortable wearing those uniforms. So I think we're going to have to ask ourselves, "Are women's sports popular because women are great athletes, or are men watching women's sports because there are scantily clad women jumping around?" Because those are two very different things. But that is the issue to me. If you've got young women who are giving up on sports because they're not comfortable with their body in the uniform that they are mandated by a regulatory body to wear, then I don't think we're doing what we need to do for female athletes. Michael McCarter: That's all we have for today's episode. This is a co-production with the Forum team at USA TODAY where we invite readers to weigh in in writing on a national topic of interest. If your submission is selected for print, we might invite you to add your voice to a future special bonus episode like this one. There's a link to Forum in the show description. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@ Thanks for listening. I'm Michael McCarter, Vice President of the Gannett Opinion Group. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Watch: Candace Parker on coaching, commentating and coming out
Candace Parker is a role model whose legacy extends far beyond the basketball court. A three-time WNBA champion, finals MVP, two-time regular-season MVP, seven-time All-Star and All-WNBA first-team member, Parker is sharing her story in a new memoir, 'The Can-Do Mindset.' For all the brilliance she showed on the court, Parker had to navigate many challenges away from the bright lights, so the release of her memoir — which coincides with the start of Pride Month — seems especially fitting. Advertisement On the latest episode of 'No Offseason,' Zena Keita, Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant interviewed Parker about her path to self-acceptance, coming out and embracing her sexuality. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on the 'No Offseason' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Keita: Candace, in your book, you wrote about your internal struggle, coming to terms with your feelings with women, and how there was a significant difference in how you were treated before and then how you were treated with your wife after coming fully out. What do you think made that so hard for you, even in a league where many players are very out and proud of it? Parker: Well, going through it, I've supported someone who has come out before, and at the time I was dating men, so I just looked at it like, 'Why is this so difficult for you? Nobody cares, it's OK and it's accepted.' But when it's you, it's different. Growing up and reading the trashy magazines where you do the little tests to see who you're compatible with, based on movies and colors and all that stuff, I always envisioned a Prince Charming. So it's scary when you envision something your entire life, and then all of a sudden life hands you something not in the package that you expected it to come in. So it took a long time for me to be OK with it myself, and there's no way that you can fight a battle trying to explain yourself and validate who you love with others before you've officially done that, and come to grips with it yourself. Everyone probably knows someone who has gone through this struggle, and you can't explain it until you're in it. I understand that the world now sees it as great, and sees the fight as behind us and all those things, but it's not. You're still looked at in a different light based on who you love, and you still get the looks and the glares and all of those things. Advertisement So as an individual and as a person who wants to be a role model, the hardest thing for me was with my family, because I wanted my nieces and nephews to still look up to me. I wanted them to still love me, and I wanted my brother's kids to still look at me as a role model. So I had to come to grips with that, and honestly, it's been my daughter, nieces and my nephews that have legit been so important for me. We told my nephew, and my nephew was literally like, 'What's for dinner?' Like, he didn't care. So just getting the support from my family and my friends was so important. And yes, I have lost some friends, but that's OK. You have to be at a point where it's OK in your journey to be able to withstand that, so I'm super grateful my our support system. It's just crazy because I cannot believe it's only been three years; it seems like it's been forever. But that just shows that we need more visibility, and we need more people out there who are just living their lives and can provide some sort of roadmap and hope for those who are struggling. I can't imagine if someone was in control of my finances or where I lived or how I supported myself, and my decision of who I loved impacted that. So my heart and love go out to all of those people who are struggling with this. The mother who doesn't know how to support their daughter who's coming out, or kids seeing their parents choose love. This isn't easy to navigate, but at the end of the day, it's about having conversations and truly about being authentic and being open and honest in those conversations. Keita: With this shift in transition, what are your thoughts on the term 'pretty baller' because when I was coming up, you were the definition of a 'pretty baller.' I remember I had my baby hairs like you did and all of that. But as the league continues to evolve, this concept of what basketball should look like and being feminine in basketball has evolved as well. Do you have any thoughts around that? Parker: Here's the thing, now with social media I think that you're going to see people be able to follow who they follow. And again, I say numbers don't lie, check the scoreboard. There were so many times when people said females in general couldn't sell shoes and couldn't be on the covers of video games. But now we're seeing more women have the opportunity to do that, and the key is opportunity. Females come in all shapes and sizes, and when you talk about clothing, the runway and the ability to show off who you are, and your personality and being unapologetic about that, it's so important. So I'm proud of the WNBA because I don't think anybody has dimmed their light to fit into a box. I know myself that I couldn't control what other people thought of me. But I knew what I wanted to bring to the table every single day, which was Candace Parker. And every single day, I wanted to work harder to get closer towards being authentically myself. But for women in society, it's hard because you're judged by everything other than playing basketball. Then when you play basketball, it's not good enough. And when you play basketball, you've got to be competitive, but you can't be too muscular. I remember worrying about that in college when I was power cleaning because of my shoulders. And you would have seen at the ESPYs I was wearing this dress, and I remember seeing a comment when I accepted the Women's Sports Award from David Beckham, and someone saying, 'Well, she's pretty, but she's too muscular.' And I remember going home, looking in the mirror and being like, really? But now I bench 125 pounds easy, and I don't care. It's one of those things where with time, you realize that everybody is trying to critique everything in this culture. And everybody has a voice now with Twitter fingers and all that stuff. So you've just got to be you, and I think your community will find you. You can listen to full episodes of No Offseason for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Delaware, Missouri State Add To Conference USA's Growing Inventory Of New FBS Teams
Delaware and Missouri State officially join Conference USA on July 1 and will increase league membership to 12 and FBS membership to 136. The Blue Hens and Bears will make it five schools in three seasons to have elevated from the FCS to the FBS and join CUSA. Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State made the move in 2023 and Kennesaw State in 2024. The five former FCS schools came from as many different conferences and are the most recent to elevate to the higher subdivision. UD was in the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly Colonial Athletic Association), MSU came from the Missouri Valley Conference, Kennesaw State was in the Big South, Jacksonville State had two years in the Atlantic Sun following an 18-year stint in the Ohio Valley Conference, and Sam Houston State had two seasons in the WAC after a 33-year run in the Southland Conference. Delaware and Missouri State will also make it seven schools to join CUSA in the aforementioned timeframe as previously independent Liberty and New Mexico State came on board in 2023, and at a time when independents have virtually disappeared. (Only Notre Dame and UConn will be on their own in 2025, though in entirely different spheres.) The Flames left the Big South to join the FBS in 2018 and were independent for five seasons before joining CUSA. The Aggies have had a nomadic time of it this century having been a member of four conferences, including two stints in the Sun Belt, and have twice been independent. Taking on five schools from the FCS and two from the independent ranks was necessary for Conference USA given the wheels that were set in motion in autumn 2021 when Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA announced they were departing for the American Athletic Conference effective 2023. That was the year Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss decided to leave for the Sun Belt. Hence, CUSA had to quickly re-make itself, which it did by filling the gaps around holdovers FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky. In the not-so-distant past, teams that moved up from the FCS usually took their lumps while finding their footing in college football's highest level. Because of how Conference USA has restructured and with Western Kentucky the only holdover having achieved notable success (10 bowl appearances in 11 years, one top 25 finish) as a league member, opportunities have been abundant for the FBS newbies and the former independents to achieve immediate success. Below are examples. The Gamecocks won the conference championship last season as a second-year FBS and CUSA member. Their lone conference loss was at Western Kentucky in the regular-season finale before blasting (52-12) the Hilltoppers a week later for the title. Rich Rodriguez led the program's transition to the FBS and went 27-10 in three seasons (13-3 in two years of CUSA play) before returning to West Virginia. Charles Kelly, an assistant at JSU in the 1990s, takes over. If not for a mid-season loss to Western Kentucky, the Bearkats would have played JSU for the conference title. As it turned out, Sam Houston State was the only CUSA team to win double-digit games (10-3) last season. Coach K.C. Keeler, who succeeded College Football Hall of Famer Tubby Raymond at Delaware – Keeler was a Blue Hens linebacker under Raymond -- in 2002 and ran the program for 11 years before taking over at Sam Houston State, returned to the I-95 corridor in December to coach Temple. Phil Longo returned to Huntsville to run the program. He was the Bearkats' OC for three seasons (2014-16) under Keeler before serving in the same role with Ole Miss, North Carolina and Wisconsin. The Aggies' inaugural CUSA campaign of 2023 resulted in a championship game appearance, a slugfest (49-35) of a defeat to Liberty, which was in its first season with the conference. Jerry Kill's team went 10-2 in the regular season – their loss to the Flames was followed by bowl loss to Fresno State – for the program's first double-digit win season since 1960 when the school was a member of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association with, among others, Arizona and Arizona State. Tony Sanchez took over Kill and enters his second season as coach. The 2023 conference championship win over New Mexico State noted above sealed a New Year's Six Bowl for the Flames, who improved to 13-0 and ascended to No. 18 in the AP poll. Jamey Chadwell's first year at the helm in Lynchburg concluded with a Fiesta Bowl blowout loss (45-6) to Oregon, and a No. 25 ranking. True, Kennesaw State went 2-10 last year in its inaugural FBS season. Both wins, however, were in conference play, including against Liberty, and a pair of losses were in overtime. Not too bad for a school that did not field a football program until 2015 and was led by Brian Bohannon from day one before his awkward departure late last season. Former North Carolina Central head coach and NFL assistant, Jerry Mack, takes over. In the larger picture as far as Conference USA is concerned, Delaware and Missouri State coming on board should only aid the long-term health of the league, if indeed there is such a thing as 'long-term' in college football. CUSA, though, has done a nice job of continuing to build itself in a rather unique manner and with 11 states represented in what will be a 12-team league for the fast-arriving 2025 college football season.
