Inconsistent officiating an alarming trend in the WNBA

Sydney Johnson was nearly on the Mystics logo at center court, far from the bench, thrusting his index finger at game official Agon Abazi. Johnson was incensed over a series of calls Sunday and was more animated than he has been at any point this season. And just like that, the first-year coach received his first technical in the WNBA.

A pair of assistants corralled Johnson, and Mystics star Brittney Sykes walked him back to the sideline. The crowd chanted, “Ref, you [stink]!” and Johnson waved his arms in support.

That was just one of a recent string of outbursts from coaches and players regarding officiating this season. The quality of WNBA officiating has been an ongoing discussion for years, but the discourse seems to have reached a boiling point.

“I don’t think it’s consistent; I think every player would say that,” Lynx forward and WNBPA vice president Napheesa Collier said. “I think it’s getting worse. I’m just going to be really honest about it. It’s a conversation that I’ve tried to have with [Commissioner Cathy Engelbert] before, with a lot of people. It’s something that we have to get better at. We have so many new eyes on us, and consistency is the biggest thing.”

Consistency is the commonality coaches and players point to. What’s called a foul on one end isn’t necessarily called on the other. What constitutes a foul in the first quarter isn’t the same in the fourth. What is considered a foul Monday isn’t necessarily on Thursday.

The issue broke through to the mainstream after a fracas between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun on June 17. Sun guard Marina Mabrey knocked Fever superstar Caitlin Clark to the floor, and when the dust settled after an unruly, nationally televised game, the penalties included: two flagrant-2 fouls, one flagrant-1; two ejections; two technical fouls and a fine. Mabrey was given a technical but he league upgraded it to a flagrant-2 the next day after deeming the original call insufficient.

Fever Coach Stephanie White was particularly critical after the game.

“When the officials don’t get control of the ballgame, when they allow stuff to happen, and it’s been happening all season long … this is what happens,” she said. “You’ve got competitive women, who are the best in the world at what they do, right? When you allow them to play physical and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete.”

White hasn’t been alone. Las Vegas Aces Coach Becky Hammon has lamented too much contact above the shoulders, with concussions to three-time MVP A’ja Wilson, Shakira Austin and Paige Bueckers as examples. Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner walked off in the middle of a televised interview to confront an official. Kelsey Plum pointed to scratches on her body during a postgame interview and compared her lack of calls to others getting “ticky-tack fouls” and added, “I’m sick of it.” Angel Reese got in an altercation after the Sun’s Bria Harley pulled her hair and was called for a mere common foul.

“I don’t think it feels different, I think every year it’s a bit inconsistent,” Mystics center Stefanie Dolson said. “That’s the biggest issue. I don’t care if you’re going to call a lot, but then every ref should be calling the same ones. Or if you’re not going to call a lot, then every ref should not call a lot. … Why do we have to, every game, feel like we have to change the way we’re playing based on who’s reffing or how they’re reffing?”

Many around the league believe having more people than ever watching the game has amplified the conversation. Notable viewership marks have become a regular occurrence, and the league just signed an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal that capitalizes on its exponential growth.

“There’s more eyes on the game and people are just now seeing it more regularly, what we’ve been saying for years,” said Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeves, who has four championship in 16 seasons with Minnesota. “Until the league admits they have a problem, nothing’s changing.”

A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

Is there a problem? Players and coaches obviously think so, but Engelbert isn’t so alarmed. Basketball, in general, is considered difficult to officiate, given all the athletic bodies moving in a confined space, particularly around the basket.

“There’s always room for growth and improvement in officiating,” the commissioner said. “I do find it interesting when you sit in the chair I sit in that no winning team ever complains about officiating; no losing team ever doesn’t complain about officiating.”

Monty McCutchen, who leads development and training for referee operations for the NBA, has heard the complaints about consistency for years and believes there’s often a misconception. There’s a difference between consistency and fairness. For example, Johnson said he was frustrated with the fact that the Wings shot 20 free throws in the first half last weekend. McCutchen said consistency isn’t about varying numbers of calls and free throws taken but about applying the same standard to the same type of play. A team that plays in the paint and drives to the basket is more likely to draw more fouls than a team that is more perimeter oriented and takes a lot of jump shots.

McCutchen and Sue Blauch, associate vice president WNBA referee performance and development, were tasked with holding officials accountable in a way they hadn’t previously. That has resulted in some turnover and a younger pool of the 35 officials on staff.

The number of games assigned and an official’s responsibility within games – crew chief, referee or umpire – can be affected by evaluation reviews. Officials typically work between 20 and 34 games per year.

“With that young staff there’s going to be some growing pains, there’s no doubt about that,” McCutchen said. “Our job is to recognize when consistency isn’t being applied and when there is that inexperience that needs to grow in this area. And when it is outside noise because this is a very convenient thing to say.”

WNBA officials are in a different situation than their NBA counterparts, who are salaried and cannot work other leagues. WNBA officials are paid per game and often work NCAA games during the winter – and they can make more money officiating in college. One official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not have permission from the league to comment, said refs may make just under $2,000 per game in the WNBA but just over $5,000 in the SEC. The league does cover travel expenses and lodging, whereas the individual is responsible for that on the college level.

There’s also a difference in the way the two levels are officiated and the pressures that come with it. One official said complaints from a coach on the collegiate level can lead to not being assigned to cover games involving that coach. That can result in a hesitancy to give a technical or eject a coach for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Certain tendencies can also be officiated in different ways. Johnson, the Mystics’ coach, noted there was supposed to be an emphasis on freedom of movement this season, but that hasn’t been consistently called.

Going back and forth between the WNBA and NCAA can require officials to be able to call games differently from way they’ve been trained.

“Until they hire us full-time and pay us as full-time employees, then it’s never going to change,” one official said. “Because if you pay me enough money to, say, just work the WNBA, I’ll leave college.

“You can have me all year long. You can train me all year. I don’t care, but you’re going to pay me enough so I don’t have to work college.”

FINDING THE RIGHT OFFICIALS

Lynx associate coach Eric Thibault, who was the head coach of the Mystics the past two years, comes from a coaching family and has been around the professional game all his life.

He has a simple question when it comes to WNBA and its officiating.

“Is our league the pinnacle for officials, or are we a step on the way to somewhere else?” Thibault said. “I think that’s the thing the league has struggled with, and it’s going to have to solve going forward.”

The process has officials coming up in the development system for six to 10 years before reaching the WNBA. The G League is considered a learning ground for the WNBA and NBA. There’s a scouting department that looks at about 3,500 officials per year working college conferences and summer camps, such as the Boo Williams Summer League in Hampton, Va. That number is whittled down to about 100 that are invited to an entry level camp where they are “observed, educated and held accountable,” a phrase McCutchen uses often.

About 48 each year move on to a mid-level camp before 30 go to an elite camp in conjunction with the NBA Players Association’s Top 100 Camp. Officials are in the pipeline for three to five years before they reach the G League. There were 10 new G League hires that will soon begin officiating Summer League games, and about one in five advance to the WNBA or NBA level.

“We’re responsible for today, but we’re also responsible for growing a staff for the future,” Blauch said. “And so there’s different levels of experience on any given night. … There’s a learning curve for people.

“We don’t take any of that feedback lightly.”

McCutchen insists the WNBA is not a feeder league to the NBA and there is no hierarchy between the two. However, the fact that the NBA has salaried positions with a contractually committed workforce seems to make it a more attractive and financially secure option.

Engelbert said they’re looking at everything to enhance the officiating, including the use of a replay center and other technology.

“I acknowledge that these individuals are human,” Engelbert said. “They miss things. We evaluate them. They go through an extensive evaluation process. When they come into the league, they go to do a thorough training, extensive training education process.”

For the main stakeholders, that doesn’t seem like enough.

Johnson is a mild-mannered, self-described “girl dad,” but even he can lose his cool and pick up technical foul. That frustration stems from the word that continues to be biggest divide in between the league and those playing and coaching: consistency.

“That kind of raises the temperature for the players and the coaches,” Johnson said. “And it’s a tough job. I’m not going to say that it’s not. But I do think the inconsistency is what kind of really gets to us.”