3 out of 4 Semifinal coaches have called out the officiating. That is the state of WNBA referees right now. Cheryl Reeve went on a 2-minute direct attack on the league for the refereeing in their game 3. “So, if this is what the league wants, okay, but I want to call for a change in leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” she said. “The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semi-finals playoff worthy, is f—ing malpractice.” It turns out, Fever and the Aces will be dealing with them in Game 4.

To put it lightly, Reeve wasn’t happy with the group. She directly ran on the court and had to be held by her assistants and Natisha Hiedeman. Fever insider Scott Agness revealed the referee lineup for Game 4 of the Fever vs Aces series. “WNBA assigned the same three officials to Fever-Aces today that had Game 3 of Lynx-Mercury on Friday. Isaac Barnett, Randy Richardson, Jenna Reneau. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected, then suspended one game for conduct and criticism of the crew & operations.” Both the Fever and the Aces have had their brush with controversial refereeing.

One could say Reeve’s rant was the aggressive version of what Becky Hammon said after Game 2. “The physicality is out of control, that’s for sure,” Hammon said. “You can bump and grab a wide receiver in the NFL for those first five yards, but you can do it in the W for the whole half court.” Fever coach Stephanie White has had her share of issues with the referees, along with her players. Clark was fined for her Instagram comment, and Sophie Cunningham revealed that the anti-referee sentiment is not limited to anyone. So, when the same referees who angered Cheryl Reeve to the extent that we saw, the WNBA fandom was quick to take the league’s case.

WNBA Fans Angered Over Game 4 Referee Appointment

The referees doubled down on their Collier-Thomas decision. “This is NOT a foul,” the post by the official referees account said. “Thomas legally gets to the ball and knocks the ball loose prior to any contact.” In addition, the WNBA suspended Reeve for her outburst, and since the referees remain unaffected, it rubbed this fan the wrong way.

“So she (Reeve) was held accountable for her actions but you let those 3 bad refs (who were just bad all game, don’t think they favored any team in particular) go on & ref again? Lollllllllll,” wrote a fan. Napheesa Collier, one of the most ferocious paint players in the league, received no free throws. There are stills of Alyssa Thomas holding Collier, viral on social media. There was some fault with the referees, and as of 2021, officials are evaluated after each round of the playoffs, so they can’t be replaced unless the round is completed.

“Are we taking polls yet on how many fights/technicals/ejections there will be today?? 🤔” wrote another fan. If Sophie Cunningham were fit and playing, she would be the first name on the list in case of any controversy. Remember her Connecticut Sun game? Well, she could still be reprimanded from the sidelines. As we discussed above, both White and Hammon are known to be hotheaded against the referees. Last game, the referees denied White a challenge despite calling for it twice, which made her livid. While we talk about coaches, fans are worried for Lexie Hull after this announcement.

“Lexie is going to end up leaving the game on a damn stretcher if Barnett officiates the same way he did in Game 1,” wrote a fan. Barnett was among the referees in the Fever vs Aces Game 1, but not with the same group. However, there was a moment when A’ja Wilson pushed Hull to the ground, and she protested by looking directly at one of the referees (whether that was Barnett is unconfirmed), but they refused to call a foul.

Hull has been thrown around in this series a little bit too much and is even playing through a back injury. She is among the best at drawing offensive fouls by risking her body. Coach White said how “tough” Hull is and how she can sustain “certain levels of pain,” so much so that it “would sideline most people.”

However, there comes a point where White could step in to defend Hull like Reeve did for Collier, and this fan joked about whether she could beat the Lynx HC on time. “Let’s see if Steph can do better. More profanity, thrown out earlier,” joked one fan. Well, White is definitely capable of that. There hasn’t been much profanity in her anti-referee comments, but if things get out of hand, she won’t hold back, and the same goes for Becky Hammon.