New York Liberty player Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected from Sunday's game against the Toronto Tempo after throwing a shoe that struck an opposing player late in the fourth quarter. The incident occurred with 1:48 remaining and the Tempo holding a 91-89 lead.
Laney-Hamilton was assessed a second technical foul for throwing a projectile onto the court. The shoe hit Toronto player Marina Mabrey in the back. Following the review, Mabrey made a free throw that extended the Tempo's lead.
The Liberty had mounted a significant comeback, rallying from a 20-point deficit before falling short in the 93-91 loss. Both Laney-Hamilton and Mabrey had exchanged words and received a technical foul in the third quarter.
Liberty coach Chris DeMarco expressed his disbelief at the call, stating, "I've never seen anything like that. We had all the momentum in the world. A shoe hit somebody. Ejected, free throws. I've also never seen a ref make such an atrocious call when he's on the other side of the floor."
Following the game, Laney-Hamilton insisted she was attempting to return a fallen shoe to teammate Jonquel Jones and did not intend to hit Mabrey. "I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they're not looking," Laney-Hamilton said, according to the New York Post. "Teammate was without a shoe, so I did my best to try and get it to her. Unfortunately, it did hit someone."
Mabrey corroborated this account, noting that while she was initially upset, she understood Laney-Hamilton was likely trying to retrieve the shoe for a teammate. "But I think she was really just trying to get the shoe back to JJ. But I'll take the free throw," Mabrey stated.
Toronto coach Sandy Brondello also suggested the shoe throw was unintentional. The win moved the Tempo to a 10-13 record, while the Liberty fell to 13-11. The Liberty's next game is scheduled for Thursday against the Dallas Wings.