“All the headlines will be, ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Bring it on,” Cheryl Reeve said last year. “Bring it on. Because this s— was stolen from us. Bring it on.” That was after her team lost Game 5 of the Finals to the Liberty. Fast forward a year, and it seems not much has changed as the Phoenix Mercury take a 2-1 lead… On top of that, Cheryl Reeve got ejected tonight for charging the refs.

Did Reeve deserve it? Probably. The chaos unfolded late in Game 3. With about 25 seconds left and Phoenix up 80-76, Alyssa Thomas stripped the ball clean from Napheesa Collier. In the process, she made some incidental contact with Collier’s knee, and just like that, Collier rolled her left ankle. The head coach believes it’s a fracture, and you can understand why she wasn’t happy with the officiating.

Speaking at the postgame press conference, Reeve didn’t hold back. “We were trying to play through it. We tried to make excuses. One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero–and she had five fouls. Got her shoulder pulled out, finished the game with her leg being taken out, and probably has a fracture. And so this is what our league wants? Okay. But I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game.” 

Of course, that was a big ask, and you can’t help but start wondering if the league is actually making any real moves to improve officiating. But the WNBA Commissioner had already touched on this issue before the game on the In Case You Missed It podcast with Khristina Williams.

“I think every year, everybody complains about officiating, by the way, in every sport. But that means people care. They care so much. And we hear the concerns from the ecosystem in our league, whether it’s fans, players, or coaches. We take it seriously. We understand there’s frustration. Our game is constantly evolving. We just talked about the speed, talent, and physicality, and we recognize that as leagues change and rules change and players get bigger and stronger and faster and officiating needs to change,” she said.

The problem for Cathy Engelbert and her team is that the WNBA trains its referees, only for the NBA to scoop them up, leaving the women’s game with fewer seasoned officials. In the WNBA, it’s rare to see referees with NBA experience, and that gap in quality becomes noticeable. Most of the veteran refs are already in the NBA. And while the NBA has its share of questionable calls, the inconsistency in the WNBA is even more apparent.

Players and coaches like Cheryl Reeve clearly see it as a big problem, but Engelbert understands that basketball is a tough sport to officiate with all those athletic bodies moving in a tight space, especially near the basket. She told the Washington Post that she isn’t overly worried about the whole ordeal:

“There’s always room for growth and improvement in officiating,” the commissioner said to the Washington Post. “I do find it interesting when you sit in the chair I sit in that no winning team ever complains about officiating; no losing team ever doesn’t complain about officiating.”

Consistency is the main complaint coaches like Stephanie White, Cheryl Reeve, and players like Napheese Collier and Caitlin Clark keep pointing to. A foul called on one end isn’t always called on the other. What counts as a foul in the first quarter might not be the same in the fourth. For that very reason, the work continues behind the scenes as Engelbert is determined to protect and uphold the product of the WNBA.

Speaking in the same podcast, Engelbert continued, “We continue to work hard on officiating. We do have a thorough process to becoming an official, extensive training and education, but also accountability nightly. Every single game, every single play, call, or non-call is reviewed. There are evaluations. So, teams have the opportunity to provide feedback. So we’re working as hard as we can to make sure we’re getting consistent officiating by understanding the frustrations.”

Yes, to a greater extent, every complaint from coaches and players is heard and addressed, according to Chloe Peterson of Indy Star. Monty McCutchen, who leads development and training for NBA referees, and Sue Blauch, associate vice president of WNBA referee performance and development, are now tasked with holding officials accountable in ways that hadn’t happened before. That has already led to some turnover and a younger pool among the 35 officials on staff, according to the Washington Post.

The process for hiring these referees is also extensive….

Inside the WNBA’s official hiring process

According to the Washington Post, the entire hiring process for WNBA officials is extensive. Most referees spend six to ten years in the development system before reaching the league. The G League serves as a training ground for both the WNBA and NBA. There’s even a scouting department that evaluates around 3,500 officials each year working at the college level.

From that pool of 3,500, about 100 officials are invited to an entry-level camp where they are observed, educated, and held accountable. Each year, around 48 move on to a mid-level camp, and 30 advance to an elite camp run with the NBA Players Association’s Top 100 Camp.

Officials usually spend three to five years in the pipeline before reaching the G League. About 10 from this pipeline make it to the G League and officiate Summer League games, and roughly one in five eventually reaches the WNBA or NBA. Even after going through such a grueling process, WNBA officials are paid only on a per-game basis, unlike NBA refs, who have salaried contracts!

Most WNBA officials also work NCAA games, which is their main source of income. Some reports suggest they earn around $2,000 per game compared to $5,000 in the NCAA, though that cannot be confirmed. Either way, it’s easy to see why experienced refs often leave the WNBA for the NBA.

Despite all the challenges, Engelbert is still working to improve the system to prevent incidents like the one with Cheryl Reeve from happening again.

Cathy Engelbert eyes new technology to aid coaches like Cheryl Reeve

It’s not just Coach Reeve who’s had issues with officiating. Becky Hammon and Stephanie White have gone on record multiple times this season questioning the calls, and White has even been fined for her comments. Players like Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham have faced fines as well for speaking out. Some kind of change is long overdue.

Engelbert said the WNBA is exploring ways to improve officiating, including the use of a replay center and other technology. “I acknowledge that these individuals are human. They miss things. We evaluate them. They go through an extensive evaluation process. When they come into the league, they go through thorough training and education.”

We’ve already talked about the kind of training and evaluation these officials go through to reach this level, and you can understand the league’s efforts to improve officiating. But the bottom line remains the same: if the WNBA can’t retain its top officials, there’s no way the level of officiating is going to improve anytime soon.