Seattle Storm Guard Jewell Loyd is asking for a trade out of the Pacific Northwest.
The WNBA All-Star made the request shortly after an internal investigation by the Storm came to a close without finding any violations related to accusations of harassment and bullying by the team’s coaching staff, according to multiple reports.
ESPN reported Wednesday that Loyd was the person who had filed the complaint against the Storm staff.
The investigation into the allegations surfaced last month, and the organization then hired outside investigators to go through the claims.
A report by the Chicago Sun-Times last month indicated that the investigation was launched because of multiple players having experienced an issue.
“The Storm recently received internal allegations of potential workplace policy violations,” a statement by the team to ESPN read. “The organization retained an outside investigator to conduct an impartial investigation into the allegations. The investigation has been completed and there were no findings of policy violations or any discrimination, harassment, or bullying.
“To protect the integrity of the process, and to preserve confidentiality, we chose not to comment while the investigation was ongoing. The Storm will continue to provide a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect.”
Loyd, a six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, was drafted No. 1 overall by the organization in 2015.
She had helped the Storm return to the playoffs this past season while averaging 19.7 points per game.
Loyd signed a contract extension in September 2023, which head coach Noelle Quinn said helped convince Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith to sign in Seattle.
“Without Jewell signing it was going to be impossible to get Skylar and Nneka, because at the end of the day, players want to play with one another,” Quinn told The Athletic earlier this year
“[All of this] doesn’t happen at all if Jewell doesn’t sign.”
