Portland Thorns’ draft pick Sydny Nasello said left-wing politics cost her an opportunity in the NWSL during an interview with Tampa Bay radio show “Beckles & Recher” on Thursday.

In the hours after the Thorns drafted Nasello 13th overall on Dec. 18, fans raised immediate concerns about the forward’s past social media activity. The Rose City Riveters, Portland’s main supporters group, wrote, “Fascism, racism, homophobia, transphobia- we are against these” in response to controversial tweets Nasello had liked or shared. Nasello and the Thorns both quickly apologized for the incident, but it was later reported that Nasello would not play for the Thorns in 2022.

On Thursday, Nasello said it didn’t take long for her draft day to go “downhill.”

“Some social media instances were brought up about some past likes and retweets that were a little bit political that Portland fans didn’t like,” she said on the radio show. “So I received a lot of heat and backlash, a lot of DMs, a lot of tweets, alot of name-calling going on. I reached out to Portland to discuss it with them.

“They seemed pretty supportive about it. They were kind of just telling me, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s just a rough introduction to the pro game. It’ll be OK. People have different beliefs, different views. Just let the waters cool.’ Then, a couple of days later, I was told I wasn’t going to be brought in for the 2022 season. So everything just went downhill from there.”

She said that some of the messages she received on Twitter included words that she didn’t even recognize (“I had to look them up,” she said), and she went private for protection.

“All of a sudden, my phone is blowing up with notifications on Twitter,” Nasello said. “It’s all these words, ‘You racist, you turf, you bigot. You’re not welcome here. You’re a transphobe, you’re a homophobe.’

“I didn’t go private because I was hiding anything. I went private because I couldn’t have thousands of notifications blowing up my phone.”

Nasello said she wasn’t forced to apologize, but that the Thorns did help her draft and proofread the message.

“It was something I wanted to do,” she said. “But I didn’t want to apologize in the wrong way. I didn’t want my words to be misinterpreted. So I talked to my social media manager over at Portland and what her take was on it. They proofread my apology and said, ‘Perfect. Send it out and then get off social media and let the waters cool from there.'”

When asked about what she had learned from the incident, Nasello said she’d probably still have her spot in the NWSL if it weren’t for social media.

“I learned that social media is a scary place,” she said. “So it’s a dream that was stripped from me just because I have different political beliefs. And the NWSL is so one-sided in that aspect that I think it’s sad and it’s disheartening to see. Because you can be an advocate for politics, but only if you’re on one side. And if you have a voice to the other side, then you’re not welcome in that league, is the perception I got from the fans, especially in the city of Portland. Maybe in other cities it’s not like that, depending on the politics.”

Nasello will be playing the upcoming season in Spain, according to “Beckles & Recher.”

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Washington Mystics (@washmystics)

"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.