May 25, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Storm guard Erica Wheeler (17) defends a shot by Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) during the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Insider Addresses Report on Storm Coach Allegedly Cursing at Former Player

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 5:25 PM ET

June 4 has been a busy day for the Seattle Storm WNBA franchise, and not in a good way.

One day after their 83-77 victory over the Dallas Wings, news broke that 6'7" center Li Yueru had requested a trade out of the franchise. This raised eyebrows among the league, given that it isn't typically normal to see trade requests coming at this time of the year.

In the wake of that announcement, there have been several reports that relate to the Storm organization. Khristina Williams (who first broke the Yueru trade request on Wednesday morning) made an X post a few hours later that read, "Per sources: There is currently an investigation being launched into the Seattle Storm coaching staff by the WNBA and league security."

Per sources: There is currently an investigation being launched into the Seattle Storm coaching staff by the WNBA and league security.
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) June 4, 2025

While this post went viral and caught a ton of attention, the broadness of the post and what the specific investigation might be about prompted more questions than answers.

Then Williams followed this up a few hours later with another post, which read, "A source with knowledge of the situation tells @iHRWomensSports the league is reviewing a complaint from a former Seattle Storm player who alleges an assistant coach directed profanity at them."

A source with knowledge of the situation tells @iHRWomensSports the league is reviewing a complaint from a former Seattle Storm player who alleges an assistant coach directed profanity at them. https://t.co/O5SQehFCZ9
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) June 4, 2025

While this is also attracting a lot of interest, Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports (who is widely regarded as the top WNBA insider) added crucial context to these reports from Williams by with her own X post, that wrote, "Re: reports that there is an active investigation into the Storm, a source with direct knowledge said that is inaccurate.

"An allegation was made that a Storm assistant cursed at a former Storm player following Sunday's game against the Aces. The league reviewed the complaint."

Costabile followed this up by adding, "Fines/suspensions are not expected."

Fines/suspensions are not expected.
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) June 4, 2025

In other words, there was no formal investigation ever filed, but instead was just an allegation that the league looked into. And it seems that's where the story ends, at least for now.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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