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Tomorrow, I will be hosting an author event with Julie Kliegman. We will be chatting about their new book, FINDING RENEE RICHARDS. You can register here.

I’ve been in a lot of press boxes and they’re not always very fun places to be. Journalism can be a selfish industry, and competition for stories can be cutthroat and unkind. But press row at the Mohegan Sun was never like that. It was a place that considered you part of the family after you covered even a single game. The Connecticut beat reporters were always happy to bring you into the fold, rather than keep you out.

That’s the beauty of a small market team, maybe. Or perhaps it was just lightning in a bottle, a group of reporters who believed that a rising tide lifted all boats and they wanted to help each other succeed.

The Sun’s final season saw the Hartford Courant lose (and not replace) their Sun beat reporter (Emily Adams, a phenomenal journalist who is now with ESPN and is pictured in the camel-colored blazer below). Beat coverage was provided exclusively by independent journalists who showed up every game to cover a team that the league often considered an afterthought.

I’ve written about the various way that the Sun fanbase is mourning the team’s move to Houston, but often lost in the conversation of folding teams are the journalists whose job it is to cover them. The Sun’s crew was a special group, and their bond went beyond games at Mohegan. They are friends outside of work, attending Boston Legacy games together and showing up to support each other when things happen in their personal lives.

In an industry that can feel hostile and isolating, getting to be even a small part of the Sun’s press corps felt like a balm. I am grateful that this group of journalists welcomed me so warmly and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

I asked five of the Connecticut Sun beat writers to share their reflections on the end of the franchise, and their experience covering the team.

“I grew up attending games with my dad, when courtside seats still cost only $40 and the disparities between myself and my male counterparts were glaring. I promised myself I would help give women’s basketball the recognition it deserved one day, and here I am. I grew up as women’s basketball grew, growing alongside it. I dreamed of the days when you could see people walking around in WNBA merch and knew the stars of the league by name.

I’ve spent the past three seasons covering the Connecticut Sun, my first journalism job out of college, making it a full-circle moment for me. Over the past three seasons, I’ve grown so much as a journalist, becoming more confident in my voice, my reporting and the stories I tell. During my time covering the Sun, I built so many meaningful relationships with players, coaches, Sun staff, fans, arena staff like Mike the candy man, and fellow journalists. Those journalists welcomed a freshly graduated 22-year-old with open arms, and I’ve made friends for life.

Cee will be moving to Houston to continue covering the franchise.

“Wowwwww!!! Were do I begin? [In] 2022, the Connecticut Sun gave me my first media credential and I’m forever grateful!!! Thank you for this wonderful time and memories !!! Taking me about my comfort zone!!! Thank you [to the Sun PR team] for calling on me even when I didn’t want to ask questions !!! This organization shaped me into the sports media host I am today !!! I have met so many great people along this journey and made some really dope friends !!! Thanks for the courage, the words the laughter and of course covering the game we love !!!! Yea this the last game for NOW !!!!”

DJ plans to cover high school sports and the Providence women’s basketball team, as well as podcasting about the NBA and NFL.

“For me as an independent journalist fresh out of college the WNBA and in particular the Connecticut Sun were one of the few places where I had a major in and spent a lot of my time as a journalist.

So as much as I’m taking the positive approach of one door closes another one opens and have moved on to the next story and team to cover. It would be a lie to not pretend that this team leaving has pretty much chopped my brand at the knees and left me stranded without a professional women’s basketball team to cover.”

“I covered the Connecticut Sun for just one season, though in the span of a few months I learned so much, even on a community level. I was welcomed with open arms by fellow media members, and as a sophomore in college, even entering the space was intimidating. I think because I recognized the WNBA as a well-established league, I thought competition was going to fill the air, but then it didn’t. I made actual friendships that went beyond work — watching games with people, going to their houses, and it made me realize how down-to-earth this community really is. In all of this, I saw what a pleasure it is to cover a smaller franchise. It’s a tight-knit community, and to have fans come up to me and tell me they read my stuff or saw my content online meant so much to me and my younger self.

Something I’m grateful to know is how small of a world women’s sports coverage really is, and in losing the team, I recognize these relationships I’ve built will not be going away. I’ve also taken this change as a sign that change is a good thing. In reality, if I spent every summer covering the same team, there wouldn’t have been much room for improvement or growth. I can’t help but be scared or worry about what next summer will look like, but am definitely trying to stay in the moment as much as I can. I look forward to whatever may come my way.”

Deyscha recently co-wrote Natasha Howard’s memoir, THE VISION THROUGH MY LENS.

“When I started covering the Sun two years ago, I was at a point in my career where I was ready for a different kind of challenge. It was a dream I had always wanted for myself - to not just cover the WNBA, but to really feel like I was in it. I wanted to experience game days, practices and being right there, capturing a team’s journey from training camp to the final buzzer of the season. When you’re on the beat, you get into a routine, just like the athlete’s you’re covering: We have our own pregame routine, from walking into the arena to press conferences to standing right there one the court as the starting lineups are called - but what I gained along the way was far different than I had ever anticipated. In an industry that can be competitive, it was the people that made Mohegan Sun truly feel like home. It was the athlete’s that we covered, and the Sun PR that we worked alongside for requests, that trusted us to tell the team’s story night in and night out and made me a better writer throughout the process. It was the fans who showed me what basketball truly means to a community - not just consumers - and that a game is a shared experience. I grew to appreciate even the arena staff, from Mike who gave us candy every quarter, to the ushers that stayed late to clean the stands. 

As one of the last Connecticut Sun beat reporters, the Sun’s move to Houston is still something I’m processing as I pivot to other opportunities and creative projects. And yet, the same passion that brought me to Connecticut hasn’t ever wavered. If anything, it’s only made me more grateful, appreciative and excited to keep telling sports stories, just as my time in Connecticut had taught me to do.”