WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith is not feeling the love from the Phoenix Mercury while on maternity leave.
Diggins-Smith is married to former Notre Dame football player Daniel Smith, and the couple recently welcomed their second child.
The six-time WNBA All-Star turned 33 years old on Wednesday, and a fan noticed that the day came and went without acknowledgment from the team.
“How disgraceful is it that the @PhoenixMercury handle couldn’t even pretend to wish @SkyDigg4 a happy birthday. Such an irresponsible action that could have been avoided,” the fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Diggins responded that the relationship was actually much more distant than that.
Another fan responded incredulously, astonished that the team would not let her use the practice facility.
“Sadly, no…or any massage therapists, chiropractor, chefs, strength and conditioning, nutritionist accessibility, etc… that EVERY other player has access to,” Diggins affirmed.
“However I’m still down 48lbs on my own and I’m feeling great!”
The Post has reached out to the Mercury for comment.
Diggins-Smith spoke to Essence in May about the changes that come with a second child in the family.
“[I’m] Just trying to find that balance where both of them are getting the attention that they need, you know? Being able to give my son what he needs as the four-year-old, compared to my daughter who’s a newborn,” she said.
This is the second maternity controversy in the WNBA in recent months, as defending-champion Aces coach Becky Hammon was suspended for two games “for violating league and team Respect in the Workplace policies” for comments allegedly made to Dearica Hamby while the latter was pregnant.
Hamby had accused the franchise of calling her a “question mark” and saying that she “didn’t hold up [her] end of the bargain” when she got pregnant, leveling the allegations after she got traded to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Hammon denied the allegations, saying that she handled the situation “with care.”
“When you’re dealing with a really tough conversation, I think things can get twisted real quick,” Hammon told reporters in May. “But I don’t think there was like any cursing or anything derogatory. That’s my opinion. Obviously, she has a different opinion, and she’s allowed to have that opinion, but that’s not how I saw things go down with my conversation or anybody else’s.”
