The Los Angeles Sparks will run through background checks on the participants in the upcoming 'male practice player tryouts' next month, a spokesperson confirmed to TMZ Sports on Wednesday (March 19).
The source said that the Sparks have sued male practice squad players since the team debuted during the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997, as other teams have throughout the years. The confirmation comes after forward Cameron Brink said she's "icked out by the potential new practice players" after the announcement flyer went viral on X, with yielded several comments from males claiming they'd want to use the opportunity to get close to Brink and her teammates.
"I guess my confession is I'm really icked out by the potential new practice players," Brink said on her Straight to Cam podcast alongside her co-host Sydel Curry-Lee, the sister of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
"It's basically just a flyer, it's like me, Dearica [Hamby], Rickea [Jackson], and Kelsey [Plum], and it's like 'male practice players wanted'... And all the comments are like 'Let Cameron Brink back me down', or something about Rickea or something about Kelsey," she added when Curry-Lee said she was unaware of the flyer.
"They need to go through heavy HR training," Curry-Lee responded.
"Who are we trusting coming into this gym?" Brink added. "I'm not boxing anyone out. Lynne, our new coach, is gonna be screaming at me for not rebounding. But I'm not boxing out anyone."
Brink, who was selected by the Sparks at No. 2 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 15 games before suffering a torn ACL that ended her rookie season.
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