“I know just by the way that things were going throughout the game that it can look a certain way but that’s just not something that I would personally do,” she said
Credit: Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected from the July 12 game between the New York Liberty and the Toronto Tempo after she hit one of her rivals with a shoe
- “I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they’re not looking,” she said, claiming that it was an accident
- Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said the officials’ call was “atrocious,” claiming that the athlete was simply trying to throw the shoe back to her teammate
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected from a WNBA game after she threw a shoe that hit one of her rivals.
During the Sunday, July 12, game between the New York Liberty and the Toronto Tempo, Liberty center Jonquel Jones lost her shoe with under two minutes left in the game.
In videos shared to social media, Jones’ teammate, Laney-Hamilton, 32, appears to pick the shoe up and throw it at Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey.
While Liberty coach Chris DeMarco later claimed that Laney-Hamilton was simply trying to throw the shoe back to Jones, per ESPN, the Liberty forward and guard received her second technical foul and was ejected from the game.
“I would never intentionally try to hit someone with a shoe, especially while they’re not looking. Teammate was without a shoe, so I did my best to try and get it to her. Unfortunately, it did hit someone,” Laney-Hamilton said after the game, per CBS Sports. “I know just by the way that things were going throughout the game that it can look a certain way but that’s just not something that I would personally do… especially in a moment like that where game is on the line.”
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After Laney-Hamilton received the foul, Mabrey’s technical free throw put Toronto back up to 91-89.
“I had to take a couple breaths,” Mabrey, 29, said of the moment she realized the shoe hit her in the back, per ESPN. “But I think she was really just trying to get the shoe back to JJ. But I’ll take the free throw.”
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty
Following the incident, official Kevin Fahy explained to reporters that Laney-Hamilton “picked up a shoe and threw it at Marina Mabrey, and it hit Marina in the back, so she received her second technical foul and subsequently was ejected from the basketball game,” per ESPN.
While Liberty forward Breanna Stewart tied the game after Mabrey’s free throw, Nyara Sabally later made a layup that earned Toronto the victory with a score of 93-91.
“It was a little scary there in the fourth,” Toronto coach Sandy Brondello, who also coached the Liberty from 2022 to 2025, said after the game, per ESPN. “This team’s resilient. I thought our defense was pretty solid for the most part until we got a little tight and the refs decided to call every foul for New York near the end.”
“But we hung in there and found a way to win,” she continued. “So proud of the group. We deserve it. We’ve been in so many games, so it’s nice for us to get a win.”
DeMarco, on the other hand, claimed that the officials made an “atrocious” call that ultimately led to the team’s third consecutive defeat.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said, per CBS Sports. “We had all the momentum in the world. Shoe hit somebody, ejected, free throws.”
“She’s trying to get the shoe back to JJ. It hit somebody. I think we’re just making stuff up. I have no idea,” he added. “You’re asking the wrong person. I just know it was just an atrocious, atrocious end of that game from the officials.”
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