On Monday night, a familiar face returned to Golden State’s home arena at the Chase Center — or Ballhalla as it’s known by fans.
“You don’t replace a player like Kate Martin,” said Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, complimenting the former Valkyries guard whose name was once synonymous with the franchise.
But the Valkyries did replace Martin a little over a month ago. This week, when she returned, Martin wore L.A. Sparks gold and purple. That’s where she signed a developmental contract after being waived from the Valkyries on May 7th.
“I don’t know, it’s still pretty fresh… I don’t know if it’s ever going to be a chapter that I fully close," Martin told reporters before Monday's game. She has always been vulnerable about losing her spot on the Valkyries. After getting cut from the team, Martin flew south for her new job just three days later.
In Los Angeles, she spoke to members of the media. “I mean obviously it was not easy at all," she said, while immediately welling up with tears. Her answer came in response to a question by Marisa Ingemi, an independent WNBA reporter who covers both the Valkyries for her site Valkyries Beat and the Sparks for the LA Times. KALW caught up with Ingemi on Monday.
“I didn’t expect her to be so emotional,” said Ingemi, who has covered Martin up and down the West Coast. "You’re being uprooted from your home, and this is something that happens in professional sports that we don’t consider a lot, but yeah, that sucks.”
Ingemi herself resonates with Martin’s experience. "You don’t want to see that happen to anyone, but at the same time, we’ve all been laid off from jobs, it’s something that’s very real, very human,” she said.
This week, the Valkyries will face the Dallas Wings and the Minnesota Lynx at home, while Kate Martin flies back to LA. “Obviously I miss her. She’s family," Nakase told the press on Monday. Reflecting on Martin's first game back in Ballhalla, she shared this: "I saw her fight, the same way she fought here. And I saw her play with a ton of confidence and energy.”
Soon, Martin may even earn a permanent roster spot with the Sparks.
