The WNBA has suspended Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve for Game 4 of her team’s semifinal series against the Phoenix Mercury after she was ejected during the final minute of an 84-76 defeat to the Mercury in Game 3 Friday night and then unloaded on the officials postgame.
“Her 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’s statement read Saturday.
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Reeve was irate after Mercury star Alyssa Thomas wasn’t called for a foul when she made contact with the knee of Lynx star Napheesa Collier on a steal with 23.8 seconds remaining that turned into a game-clinching breakaway layup and left Collier on the floor with a turned left ankle.
Reeve interrupted play after the layup, walking onto the court before the ensuing inbound and berating an official. As a result, she earned her second technical foul, which resulted in her ejection from the game.
Reeve got in the face of the official and had to be restrained by guard Natisha Hiedeman and, eventually, Lynx coaches as well.
The longtime Lynx head coach — who has won four WNBA championships and four WNBA Coach of the Year awards since taking over the team in 2010 — didn’t let up on her way to the locker room.
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After the game, Reeve said Collier “probably has a fracture,” leaving the status of the five-time All-Star forward in doubt heading into a do-or-die Game 4 for the Lynx, who entered the playoffs with the league’s best record this season but now trail the Mercury 2-1 in the best-of-five semifinals series.
Reeve said a whole lot more, too.
“This is the look that our league wants, for some reason. We were trying to play through it, we tried not to make excuses. One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero, and she had five fouls. Zero free throws. Got her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out, and probably has a fracture. And so this is what our league wants. OK. But I want to call for a change in leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game.
The officiating crew that we had for tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy is f***ing malpractice. I can take an L with the best of them. I don’t think we should have to play through more than what they did. We’ve got players — [Maria Kliundikova’s] on the glass and gets f***ing cracked, and there’s no call. And all of them decided ‘It wasn’t my call, I don’t know, I didn’t see it that way.’ They’re f***ing awful.”
Reeve didn’t take any questions during her availability. She said her two cents about the league’s officiating and then walked out.
In addition to her suspension, she received a fine from the league Saturday. So did Lynx assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson.
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Thibault was fined for an “inappropriate interaction” with an official on the court, and Brunson was fined for an “inappropriate social media comment” directed at WNBA officials.
Brunson quote posted on X, commenting above a video showing the play on which Collier went down as well as the aftermath.
“Yeah this happened!” Brunson wrote. “Take out one of the best players in the league because you have no control of the game!”
Game 4 will be played on Sunday in Phoenix. The Lynx’s season will be on the line, and Reeve won’t be on the sideline coaching.
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