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WNBA Delivers Verdict on Cheryl Reeve's Viral Officiating Criticism

The WNBA has decided whether they wanted to punish Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve after her critical comments about the WNBA Finals officiating.

Grant Young

Oct 18, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve talks to the media before game four of the 2024 WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve talks to the media before game four of the 2024 WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After Game 5 of the WNBA Finals ended, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve went on a passionate rant about the game's officiating cost her team a chance at winning a WNBA title.

"I thought today was incredibly disappointing," Reeve said of the Game 5 officiating, per Robin Lundberg. "We have got to change our challenge rules, and the officials during the game should have a third party. Because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge."

Reeve was referring to the referees awarding New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart a questionable foul call with a few seconds left in the game.

Reeve later added, "I know all the headlines will be 'Reeve cries foul.' Bring it on. Because this s*** was stolen from us," per X user @cjzero.

Many felt that Reeve would be fined by the WNBA as a result of her comments, which went extremely viral on social media in the game's aftermath. But an October 28 article from ESPN's Alexa Philippou revealed that was not the case.

"The WNBA did not fine Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve after her criticism of the officiating from the winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, Philippou wrote.

She later added, "WNBA coaches and general managers have been fined throughout the year for public criticism of officiating, though those penalties have not been made public."

Reeve wasn't the only head coach who criticized the referees during the WNBA Finals, as Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello put them on blast after losing Game 4.

"We got no calls today," Brondello said postgame, per Myles Ehrlich."Do I have to speak up in a press conference? They called ticky-tacks and we were down there and got hit, and got nothing... I'm one of the nicest bloody coaches in the league, but this pisses me off. Just be fair, you know? If they're getting hit, it's a bloody foul."

Philippou noted that Brondello wasn't fined for her comments either.

At least the WNBA called this one fair between both coaches.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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