There seems to be some tension between Satau Sabbary and the Wings of Dallas.
Following Phoenix’s win over Dallas (93-80) on Wednesday night, there was a need to separate DeJonai Carrington, a guard for the Wings, as she and Sabbary exchanged words.
This game was significant for Sabbary, marking her first matchup against the team that drafted her before trading her to Phoenix in February.
Carrington was also involved in a multi-team trade that brought her to Dallas from Connecticut.
After the game at PHX Arena, Carrington approached Sabbary. There are videos online capturing the moment.
Carrington leaned toward the Mercury players and directed some comments at Sabbary.
Alyssa Thomas, a forward for Phoenix, stepped in as a peacemaker, putting her arms around Carrington to escort her away from the scene.
Thomas and Carrington have been teammates at Connecticut for several seasons, which may explain the heated interaction.
Carrington even raised her hand to block cameras that were filming the altercation following the game.
The atmosphere during the match had been quite intense, with both teams displaying some chippiness.
The Phoenix broadcast team expressed surprise that security didn’t intervene sooner. One comment from a broadcaster noted, “After this game, there’s been quite a bit of drama.” Another added, “I’m shocked there isn’t more security separating the players.”
Sabbary had an impressive performance, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, overshadowing a standout game from Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers, who scored 35 points.
Thomas contributed 11 points and 10 assists, while Dallas struggled with scoring outside of Bueckers, shooting just 16% from the field.
Carrington finished the night with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Wings.
Before the match, Sabbary seemed to take a light jab at her former team while discussing “favorite wing flavors” in a video for Mercury’s social media account.
Sabbary stated, “I’m not eating wings anymore.”
The Mercury (7-4) and Tsubasa (1-10) are set to meet again on July 3rd.
