Paige Bueckers’ frustrating night against the Atlanta Dream didn’t end simply with a tough loss and one of the worst shooting performances of her young WNBA career. It also included a controversial technical foul that she found genuinely unbelievable, and one that, in her view, should never have been called in the first place.

For Bueckers, the broader issue goes beyond just this one incident. She believes that when it comes to technical fouls specifically, referees could afford to extend a little more leniency to players. Physical fouls, fine, call them as strictly as the rulebook demands. But technicals, in her view, are different. And so they deserve a different standard of judgment, unless a situation completely spirals out of hand. That said, Bueckers is also careful to acknowledge just how difficult the job of officiating truly is. “I would never want to be a ref. It’s a really extremely hard job, and they get criticized just as much as a player, so it’s tough to manage sometimes,” she said, as per beat reporter Myles Ehrlich.

The specific incident that drew Paige Bueckers’ technical foul makes her argument all the more understandable. It occurred late in the third quarter, when she drove to the basket and drew a non-shooting foul from an Atlanta defender. Visibly frustrated, Bueckers clapped her hands in an expression of emotion, and official Kevin Fahy interpreted the gesture as unsportsmanlike and assessed a technical foul. Even her head coach Jose Fernandez found the call difficult to believe. Bueckers was even arguing with the official moments later, saying “Are you serious? I clapped, just like that.”

For context, referees have been calling significantly more fouls this season following adjustments to the league’s rules. And, of course, Bueckers is not oblivious to the reasoning behind it. “I know they’re putting an emphasis on controlling the game more, not letting it get to be a bloodbath as much as it was last year,” she said. But technical fouls, she argues, sit in a separate category. They are not about physical contact, they are a response to emotion, to passion, to the human element of competitive sport. And in Bueckers’ view, that human element does not deserve punishment.

As she said, “We’re obviously going to be hyped up and showing a bunch of passion and joy and fire. Like, that’s what basketball is all about,” she said. For Bueckers, those emotions are not a problem, they are part of what makes the game interesting. And so for her, the refs should give a little bit of leeway. “I feel like you should just let it go. And you should for technicals, especially,” she said. And of course, when something genuinely crosses the line, referees are more than capable of identifying it. “I’m sure the refs can tell that,” she added.

And she has a fair point, particularly given the context of that specific moment. The technical came at a time when the Wings were beginning to claw their way back into a game they had been trailing for most of the night. A clap of the hands in that moment, born out of competitive frustration rather than any intent to disrespect. 

Well, the Wings eventually fell 86-69 against Atlanta. And all the more painful, Bueckers ended the game with just 7 points on 3-of-13 from the field. For a player of her caliber, it was a game to forget on almost every level. However, she isn’t the only star player who had to deal with the antics of the refs in a game. Caitlin Clark was going through something similar at the very same time.

Caitlin Clark Also Hit With Technical Foul in Emotional Fever Contest

Paige Bueckers was not the only player who picked up a technical foul on Friday. At about the same time the Dallas Wings were facing the Atlanta Dream, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were also battling the Golden State Valkyries. And Clark too ended up getting assessed a tech during the game.

The incident that led to Clark’s foul took place at the end of the first half. Clark and Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün got into a heated on-court confrontation after Salaün appeared to shove Clark in the back following a pass. As a result, both players got double-technical fouls by the officials.

Funny thing about Clark’s own situation was that she did not even realize she had a technical foul until the postgame press conference, when a reporter brought it up to her. Reacting to it, Clark said, “Oh, no way! That just makes sense for the refs tonight… I guess I have some fines coming my way.”

Clark’s foul, though, seemed a little more deserving than what Paige Bueckers did to earn hers, considering it came during a direct and heated confrontation with an opponent. In fact, Clark even finished the game with five personal fouls and was also assessed a Flagrant 1 foul. Perhaps, like Paige Bueckers said, hers is the perfect example of when refs know passion getting overboard.