Tempo Player Invokes Caitlin Clark in Sandy Brondello 'Protected Species' Defense

Toronto Tempo forward Temi Fagbenle used Caitlin Clark as a point of comparison when defending her head coach, Sandy Brondello, referring to Angel Reese as a "protected species" during the Tempo's July 17 game against the Atlanta Dream.

"'Protected species' is a figure of speech and I see nothing suspension-worthy with what @brondellosandy said. 'Species' is the unfortunate and touchy word of this well-known phrase especially in the US’ racially charged climate, but if she was saying it about CC (an appropriate comparison re popularity) there would be no outrage, now would there. Suspension is laughable," Fagbenle said with a post to her Threads account on July 18.

Tèmí Fágbénlé disagrees with the suspension. https://t.co/w8JVtQ2VAr pic.twitter.com/qYUPeM2Xkd
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) July 19, 2026

What Temi Fagbenle Meant When Invoking Caitlin Clark in Sandy Brondello Defense

Essentially, Fagbenle (who is a Black woman) is saying that if Brondello used the phrase "protected species" when talking about Caitlin Clark's (Fagbenle used "CC" for Clark, which is a common acronym used to identify the Fever star guard) preferential treatment by referees, which is what the phrase apparently means in Brondello's home country of Australia, then there would have been no backlash.

She does make a fair point, as the backlash Brondello received stemmed from the fact that it was about Angel Reese, a Black woman. While Brondello has made clear that there aren't any racial implications behind the use of "protected species" in Australia, the fact that she, a white woman, used it about a black woman is where the issue lies, given the racial history, sensitivity, and implications behind referring to a Black person as a "species" in the United States.

In other words, Fagbenle is trying to say that if Brondello had called Clark a "protected species," there would have been no issue because she's also white, and therefore there would be no question about racial intent behind what Brondello said.

It's a fair point for Fagbenle to make. But the bottom line is that Brondello didn't say it about Clark. She said it about Reese, which means that racial factors and motives are going to come up in the ensuing discourse. Brondello's apologies afterwards have conveyed that she genuinely regretted using the phrase. Regardless, Fagbenle clearly felt compelled to defend her coach.

Fagbenle definitely didn't need to involve Caitlin Clark, with whom she played on the Fever during the 2024 season. But Caitlin's name always seems to find its way into any women's basketball debate, even if she has nothing to do with it.

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