Portland's expansion WNBA franchise parts with president
June 27 - Portland's new WNBA team parted ways with its president less than three months after hiring her.
After the Oregonian reported that the expansion franchise fired team president Inky Son, ownership group RAJ Sports released a joint statement with Son saying that she "has decided to leave the organization."
Son came to Portland following a tenure as the National Basketball Players Association's chief administrative officer. The team announced her hiring on April 1.
"During her brief but impactful tenure, Son helped lay the foundation for the franchise's presence in Portland, shaping its early business operations and community engagement efforts," the statement said. "Son will return to New York, where she was previously based, and the organization thanks her for her leadership during this important phase and wishes her success in her next chapter."
The Oregonian reported there were significant "growing pains" behind the scenes that may have contributed to Son's departure.
WNBA Portland has yet to reveal its team identity, hinting that it will do so July 15. The franchise has yet to hire a general manager.
Portland will be joining the WNBA next season at the same time as another expansion franchise in Toronto. That team already announced its identity, the Toronto Tempo.
--Field Level Media
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Canadian businesses seek certainty in US tariff war
Deal or no deal, what Wes Love wants is Toronto-area business, Taurus Craco, imports machinery from overseas and distributes it across North America, mainly to the United President Donald Trump's shifting tariffs on Canadian products have left him, like many independent business owners, unable to plan for the future."What has been creating indecision in the market is people don't know which way this is going to go," Mr Love told the BBC in June. "And in small businesses, indecision is killer." Taurus Craco was hit hard by the tariffs earlier this year when it was forced to shell out nearly C$35,000 ($25,500, £18,700) because a shipment to the US crossed the border a few minutes after one deadline."It is totally punitive. From a small business perspective, that's more than the cost that we spend on hydro and gas for the entire year," he though Trump paused that tariff a few hours later, Taurus Craco still had to pay. Refusing would mean no longer being allowed to transport its products into the US, Mr Love said."It's like dealing with the mob," he is in a tit-for-tat tariff war with its largest trading partner, faciing a series of levies, in particular on metals and auto. Since taking office in January, Trump has announced a series of import taxes on goods from other countries - arguing they will boost American manufacturing and protect jobs. The ensuing uncertainty has hit Canada's economy and intense talks between the two countries hit a snag on Friday. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called Trump's tariffs "unjust", and said while campaigning for the April election that the "old relationship" with the US is "over". Shortly after winning that election, the prime minister visited Washington DC, taking a more conciliatory message to the White House to launch talks on a new trade and security deal. A 16 July deadline since has been set to hash out that deal, and President Trump said at the recent G7 summit that he was optimistic the two countries could "work something out" on on Friday, Trump said he was cutting trade talks over Canada's digital services tax. "We are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," he wrote on social has threatened to impose another round of retaliatory tariffs on the US if the talks aren't successful. Mr Love welcomes any prospect of a deal."Give us a set of rules and leave them alone and let us operate within those rules," he said."It's like sport, right? Everybody goes onto the field and you play to a set of rules, but you don't change the rules in the middle of the game." Trade, a sudden exit, Middle East conflict - five takeaways from G7'A stab in the back' - car workers in Canada hit out at US over tariffsThe reality behind Trump's incredible investment claimsWhat tariffs has Trump announced and why? Gaphel Kongtsa, international policy director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said businesses are hopeful an agreement will bring stability. Thus far, they have had to navigate a very fluid landscape, he said, "where seemingly things get increased or decreased or added on without very much clear indication as to why".Canada is hugely reliant on trade with the US, with 75% of its exports heading south, according to Statistics economy has slowed significantly in the first quarter of 2025 as a result of trade war and the ensuing uncertainty - growing only 0.8% between 1 January and 31 March, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).It shrank 0.1% over a month in April. A timeline of the tariffs shows what a whirlwind few months it has 1 February, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on most Canadian imports, then suspended them for a month days later. They were re-imposed when that deadline expired, only to be again delayed. Not long after, he granted an exemption on all goods that were compliant with the current North American free trade deal, known as the USMCA. Then in March, the US imposed a global 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminium as well as on imported vehicles. This month, Trump raised the metals tariff to 50%. The manufacturing sector has been in the spotlight when it comes to the tariffs, but the service sector also is affected by the uncertainty, if not by the levies directly. Sam Gupta is the founder and CEO at ElevatIQ, a technology and management consultancy that operates out of Buffalo, New York, and in Gupta said most people don't think about the service sector during a period of uncertainty, calling it the "unloved stepchild" of the economy."The attention goes to all the manufacturing companies and the companies that are directly impacted by the supply chain," he said. Still, services - which encompass everything from finance to tourism - make up a huge proportion of Canada's economy, accounting for the vast majority of its exporters have not been hit as hard as manufacturing, but their outlook and confidence in the market is at the lowest level in years, according to data from the Canadian Chamber of while Ottawa has implemented several measures to provide relief to companies hit by the tariffs - including from funds raised by counter tariffs - the service sector has not received any compensation."We are not even in the conversation," Mr Gupta said. "We don't exist."He said his business is not financially struggling at the moment, but noted that inquiries for his firm's services were "down by 50%". "As far as our understanding goes, not a lot of businesses are thinking about these longterm investments right now. It just, they just are not in the mindset," he said."The biggest fear that we all have right now is, I don't know how long this is going to go. If it is going to be six months, a year, 18 months, we can still survive. But let's say this goes on for like two years, three years then oh, my goodness, it will be, really, really hard."This has been the toughest period for the industry in his 20-year career, as the sector faces a combination of challenges, he said. Mr Gupta recalled how easy it was for him to get a well-paying job early in his career. "Even when I was graduating, we were getting paid like crazy. And we were so arrogant that we would not even pick up calls from recruiters," he said."But now with AI, with tariffs, the economy, everything, everybody that I know is struggling," he said. Statistics Canada reports that 56% of all businesses that export to the US have taken measures to mitigate the impact of than 30% have delayed major investments and expenditures, while 25% sought alternative customers outside the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday that exports to the US dropped by more than 15% in April. Steel and aluminium exports were down by 25% and 11%, and the export of vehicles had fallen by 25%.But despite everything, Mr Love remains said businesses can navigate the challenges as long as the US does not keep changing its trade policy."We're entrepreneurs. We are full of piss and vinegar, as they would say," he said."And so we are doing everything that we possibly can to keep fighting. And I think we will be successful; we just need to know what the ground rules are."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte reveals fan's vile taunt about his dead mother that reduced him to tears
Ketel Marte has revealed the vile insult about his late mother that was shouted from the stands and reduced the Arizona Diamondbacks star to tears. Earlier this week, Marte, 31, was seen weeping on the mound at Rate Field in Chicago after he was taunted during a game against the White Sox. His mother, Elpidia Valdez, died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in 2017. A 22-year-old man was handed an indefinite ban by the team and Major League Baseball over the insult. After the game Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvollo refused to reveal what the fan had said. But Marte has now explained that they shouted: 'I sent your mom a text last night'. 'What happened was in the seventh inning, I came to bat. I'm ready at the plate and I hear this fan shouting. He was on top of the dugout,' Marte told @DannyBeisbol. 'He yelled at me, saying stuff about my mom. He was like, "I sent your mom a text last night." When everything happened with my mom, I was here in Chicago. I was in this city.' Later, Marte added: 'I think something needs to be done about the fans. It's getting out of hand. People always yell stuff at me, but never about my mom. People know that my mom passed away in an accident. But anyways, we're praying for him and his family, too. May God protect them and help him heal his heart. 'They're always yelling things at me, but I don't mind. But when it comes to my mom that's where the line gets crossed.' Luvollo was seen consoling Marte during a pitching change in Arizona's 4-1 loss. He pointed at the fan and appeared to shout: 'His mom died, you dumb f***. Dumb f***' 'It was a terrible moment,' Luvollo said afterwards. 'Fans are nasty, and fans go too far. I love my players, and I'm going to protect them.' Luvollo continued: 'I looked right at [Marte] when I heard...I looked right at him and he looked at the person, as well. 'He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure... I just reacted as a dad would when I went out to change pitchers. I could see he was sobbing. It hurt.' The fan was later ejected. As reported by ESPN they expressed remorse and admitted to the inappropriate comments and will now be denied entry into all MLB stadiums until further notice. '[I told him], "I love you and I'm with you and we're all together and you're not alone. No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you heard, that guy is an idiot. It shouldn't have an impact on you,"' said Lovullo, who has managed Marte since their first year together in Arizona in 2017. It was later that year that Marte's mother died in a car accident in their native Dominican Republic. 'I've known Ketel for nine years, and he's had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships, as well,' the Arizona manager continued. 'Some really, really tough moments in his life, and I know those. At the end of the day, we're human beings and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him.' A versatile player and fan favorite in the Phoenix area, Marte comes from a baseball family and is actually married to Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s cousin.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
We love the Glazers here (even if our stadium leaks too!): Welcome to Tampa, home of Manchester United's unpopular owners - and where a local fanbase is besotted with their thriving sports team
At the Glazer Children's Museum in Tampa, they know all about their benefactors' ownership of Manchester United. 'Sometimes I open my emails and there will be a flood of messages which can be pretty critical, asking me to tell the Glazer family certain things,' explains Sarah Cole, the facility's president and chief executive.
