Lesbian Sports, News for Queer Women

Toronto Tempo Unveil Their New Butch and Femme Mascot Duo

August 19, 2026
Dot and Dez via the Toronto Tempo

The Canadian team revealed not one but two team mascots, Dez (she/they) and Dot (she/her) during their game against the Indiana Fever.

During halftime of their Tuesday night game against the Indiana Fever, the Toronto Tempo officially introduced their two new mascots: Dez the snapping turtle and Dot the arctic hare.

With Sophie Cunningham in attendance and a pro-Sophie Cunningham rally outside, the Tempo introduced us to the WNBA’s second nonbinary mascot Dez, who uses she/they pronouns, has a low taper fade, long basketball shorts and a sharp winged liner. “Dez (she/they) is a Borealis Blue Snapping Turtle from Muskoka, Ontario. Their name is inspired by decibel, a nod to their love of music and role as the more measured half of the duo. Dez is calm, clever and always thinking a few steps ahead,” the team said in a statement. The Tempo also revealed that Dez is a Taurus, DJs in their spare time and loves a soft shell taco.

Dez’s partner in crime is the gorgeous Dot, a hare to play on the classic tortoise and hare story, who uses she/her pronouns, rocks a classic headband, and has dyed ends of her hair. A Gemini who loves cotton candy, the Formula 1 series Drive to Survive and “hops and hypes,” she is names for Toronto’s nickname, T-Dot. While Dez is measured and calm, Dot is full of energy, quick to get the crowd of their feet with acrobatics and enthusiasm.

“From the beginning, we wanted our mascots to feel distinctly Tempo – rooted in who we are as a Canadian team,” Tempo chief marketing officer Whitney Bell wrote in a statement. “Dez and Dot have completely different personalities, but they’re better together. One knows when to slow things down, the other knows when to turn the energy all the way up. That balance felt like such a natural expression of Tempo, and we can’t wait for our fans to get to know them.”

Toronto fans are already eating up the two mascots, joyously celebrating how unabashedly queer the mascot are in a time when the league’s queerness feels threatened.

Who knows what Dot and Dez will get up to this season? Will there be dating rumors? Will Dez hit up Liberty’s Ellie the Elephant? Will Dot fall for the Aces’ Bucket$ or even the Valkyries’ Violet?

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