The WNBA suspended Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve for one game after she criticized the officiating and failed to leave the court after being ejected in the Lynx’s 84-76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals.
Reeve will sit out Game 4 against Phoenix on Sunday. The WNBA said Reeve’s suspension was for ‘conduct and comments included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court in a timely manner.’
The Mercury lead the best-of-five series two games to one and would advance to the WNBA Finals with a victory.
Reeve was tossed from the game with 21.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter after Mercury guard Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and scored with a layup, effectively ending the game.
No foul was called on the play, and Collier limped off to the bench. Reeve later said that Collier probably suffered a fracture to her leg, but there has been no update on her status for Game 4.
Reeve immediately went after the officials and had to be restrained by her assistant coaches and Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman.
‘If this is what the league wants, OK, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,’ Reeve said after the game. ‘The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it’s f—ing malpractice.’
The league also said Reeve and Lynx assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson were fined. Thibault was fined for his inappropriate interaction with an official on the court, and Brunson was fined for an inappropriate social media comment directed at WNBA officials.