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WNBA Announces Decision On League’s Officiating Problem originally appeared on The Spun.
The WNBA has been facing severe officiating criticism throughout the 2025 season.
Several of the league’s top players, including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, have been founding off on the league’s referees. Even many of the league’s top coaches have been sounding off, too.
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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been facing calls to do something about the league’s officiating problem, whether it’s hiring new referees, better training the current ones or coming up with some kind of accountability system for the league’s officials as a whole.
At WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, Engelbert announced that the league was “on it.”
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JUNE 19: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever argues a call with a referee during the second half of a game against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Engelbert didn’t hold back.
“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.
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“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.”
Foul calls are up in 2025, according to a report from ESPN.
“According to ESPN Research, foul calls are up slightly — with teams averaging 18.7 fouls per game, the highest since 2017 — while other metrics remain within historical norms,” ESPN’s Maria Lawson reported this past week. “Flagrant fouls are on pace to total 52 this season, the third most in league history when adjusted for the current 44-game schedule, but still well below last year’s record of 77. Technical fouls are projected at 191, which would rank sixth most all time on an adjusted basis.”
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Of course, complaints about the officiating are not unique to the WNBA.
“As a fan of sports for 60 years now, I know that, you know, no one’s ever happy with officiating. All sports deal with it,” she said. “But we’re working hard to make sure we’re putting the best product out on the court.”
Still, it sounds like the WNBA’s players and coaches very much want it to improve. The WNBA is working to make that happen.
WNBA Announces Decision On League’s Officiating Problem first appeared on The Spun on Jul 20, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
