The WNBA fined Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve $15,000 for her comments about officiating, believed to be the largest in WNBA history.
Reeve criticized the officiating in Friday’s Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals, specifically for the lack of a call on a play that injured Napheesa Collier. She had to be restrained after confronting the referees in the moment, and in her postgame press conference said it was “fucking malpractice” that the league determined this officiating crew was fit to work a semifinal game. She also said the WNBA needs “a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating.” The league suspended Reeve from Game 4, and without Reeve or Collier, the Lynx were eliminated.
The National Basketball Referees Association said the officials made the right call in a post on social media. “The leg to leg contact is incidental once the ball is clearly loose,” the account posted. The NBRA represents refs in the NBA, WNBA, and G League, but only the NBA provides detailed information and histories about its officials. The WNBA does not have a dedicated officiating staff, instead borrowing from G League, NBA, and NCAA refs, or provide extensive information about its crews. The three refs who worked Lynx–Mercury Game 3, who also officiated Aces–Fever Game 4, are not listed on the NBRA website.
The Athletic first reported the size of the fine. Unlike the NBA, the WNBA does not disclose the sizes of fines.
WNBA coaches and players have been vocal about officiating this year, and the league has been swift in laying down fines.
Fever player Sophie Cunningham received three fines in a row for talking about officiating on her podcast and social media. Caitlin Clark also received a $200 fine for posting on social media that the “Refs couldn’t stop” the Fever bench mob.
Aces coach Becky Hammon and Fever coach Stephanie White each received $1,000 fines for supporting Reeve. Hammon said Reeve “said the truth,” while White said the Minnesota coach “made a lot of valid points.”
But Reeve’s punishment is by far the harshest; the three-figure fines that Clark and Cunningham received are more typical punishments. In 2021, Diana Taurasi was fined $2,500 for pushing a referee. Though Reeve’s fine is believed to be the largest for a single person in the WNBA, the Liberty were fined $500,000 in 2022 for organizing their own charter flights.
Ironically, Reeve herself has lambasted the league’s lack of transparency around fines.
“I can think of at least 10 years ago we have been asking for [greater transparency] in our competition meetings,” Reeve said on a June episode of Richard Deitsch’s podcast. “The teams have wanted it. The league has not for a variety of reasons. If you’re transparent about what the fines are and fining someone $500, you’re perpetuating the narrative players aren’t worth very much. We’re not paying them very much.”
In announcing her suspension, the league said Reeve’s “conduct and comments included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection with 21.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference.”
The WNBA also fined Lynx assistants Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson $500 each for “inappropriate interaction with an official on the court” and “an inappropriate social media comment directed at WNBA officials,” respectively. Brunson shared a video of Collier’s injury, writing, “Yeah, this happened! Take out one of the best players in the league because you have no control of the game!”
A league spokesperson declined to comment on Reeve’s fine.
“We hear the concerns,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said at the All-Star game this summer. “We take that input. Every play is reviewed. Spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we use that then to follow up with officials, training.”
