Overview
- Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton picked up Jonquel Jones’ lost shoe and threw it; the shoe hit Toronto guard Marina Mabrey in the back and, after review, officials assessed a technical that was Laney-Hamilton’s second and triggered an automatic ejection.
- The technical free throw made by Mabrey put Toronto up 91-89 and interrupted New York’s comeback momentum as the Tempo held on to win 93-91.
- Officials, including referee Kevin Fahy, described the call as for ‘‘throwing a projectile onto the court,’’ and the pool report confirmed the hit and the ejection without addressing intent.
- Both players and Toronto coach Sandy Brondello said the contact appeared unintentional, while Liberty coach Chris DeMarco strongly criticized the officiating for altering the finish.
- Video clips of the sequence circulated widely but no single camera captured the full path of the shoe, leaving key details about how it came to hit Mabrey unclear and prompting heightened media scrutiny without any reported additional league discipline.