On Tuesday, the New York Liberty announced that they will not renew Sandy Brondello’s contract for next season as head coach. The move comes after the team was eliminated from the first round of the 2025 playoffs against the Phoenix Mercury — though they had back-to-back stints in the 2023 and 2024 Championships, including their 2024 win, the first Liberty championship in franchise history.
The 2025 season started off strong but stalled due to injuries that sidelined the team’s strongest players. On Friday, they were eliminated in the third game of the first playoffs round. In the post-game press conference, Liberty players Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu were asked what they thought about critics who argued Brondello should be fired after the team was knocked out. Stewart muttered, “What the fuck,” before answering, “To anybody that kinda questions Sandy being here, this is a resilient group. She has our back and we have hers.”
Reporter: "What would you say to those who question whether Sandy [Brondello] should be here next year to coach you guys again?"
Breanna Stewart: "What the f*ck? … To anybody that kinda questions Sandy… she has our back and we have hers."pic.twitter.com/unZBvGwBfe
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 21, 2025
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In the announcement, Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said, “Sandy finishes her tenure in New York as the winningest coach in franchise history, and she took us to never-before-seen heights as the first head coach to lead the Liberty to a championship. We wish Sandy the very best in her next chapter.”
While firing head coaches is not uncommon in pro basketball leagues, the WNBA seems to be going through them particularly quickly right now. Last season, seven out of the 12 teams fired their head coaches. Brondello is not the only coach whose contract was not renewed this year — on Monday, the Seattle Storm also announced they were parting ways with their head coach, Noelle Quinn, the only Black female coach in the league.
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No Liberty player has commented on Sandy leaving yet, but fans do not seem pleased. “Where’s the dislike button when we need it,” one commenter wrote on Instagram.
