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NBA referees responded to Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve on Saturday, posting on X that a play in which All-Star Napheesa Collier was injured wasn’t a foul.
Now it’s up to WNBA executives to determine if they will respond to the coach’s criticism — not only of the game officials, but of the people who appointed them — with a fine or even a suspension.
The veteran coach who has won four league championships went on a two-minute rant after her team lost Game 3 of its best-of-five playoff series against Phoenix on Friday night. She called for the WNBA to make changes at the league level when it comes to officiating. Monty McCutcheon is the head of WNBA officiating, and Sue Blauch is the head of referee performance and development for the league.
Reeve then focused her anger on the three game officials from Friday night: Isaac Barnett, Randy Richardson and Jenna Reneau.
“The officiating crew that we had tonight — for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy — is (expletive) malpractice,” Reeve said.
The play that drew Reeve’s ire was Alyssa Thomas stealing the ball from Collier near the 3-point line and going toward the other end of the court for the game-sealing layup.
Collier injured her leg on the play and had to be helped to the locker room. Reeve said Collier “probably has a fracture,” though she didn’t elaborate on the injury.
Though Collier crashed to the court after the players collided, the National Basketball Referees Association posted a highlight of the play with its description of why officials were correct to not blow their whistle.
“This is NOT a foul,” the post said. “Thomas legally gets to the ball and knocks the ball loose prior to any contact. The leg to leg contact is incidental once the ball is clearly loose.”
There have been several complaints about WNBA officiating this season. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon has voiced her issues with the physicality in the playoffs.
“You can bump and grab a wide receiver in the NFL for those first 5 yards, but you can do it in the W for the whole half court,” she said. “You put two hands on somebody, it should be an automatic foul. The freedom of movement? There’s no freedom. I’m not saying we’re not fouling, too. I’m not saying that. I’m saying it’s out of control.”
The league typically doesn’t publicize fines for players or coaches.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the league’s officiating during All-Star Weekend in July.
“As we go forward on the officiating, we hear the concerns. We take that employee input,” Engelbert said. “Every play is reviewed. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we use that then to follow up with officials’ training.
“Consistency is important. I think some people observe our game versus other basketball formats (and think) there aren’t a ton of fouls called, but I realize consistency is the name of the game.”
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