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On Saturday, the WNBA returned its punishment to the Minnesota Lynx coach, Cheryl Reeve, after his actions during and after the defeat of Friday’s qualifying series against the Phoenix Mercury.
Reeve was suspended for match 4 of the series in the semi-finals and ordered to pay a fine.
At the end of the fourth quarter of match 3, Reeve was aggressively pursuing a referee. Subsequently, she seemed to engage in a verbal altercation with the game manager. The lynx was eliminated from the line after a defeat of 86-81 on Sunday.
Athletics reported on Tuesday that Reeve had been sentenced to a fine of $ 15,000.
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Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reacts in the second half of the five games of the WNBA 2024 qualifiers against Connecticut Sun at the Target Center. (Images Matt Krohn-Imagn)
The figure would be one of the most important fines that the WNBA has ever expressed an individual. In 2021, Diana Taurasi was sentenced to a fine of $ 2,500 for having established illegal contact with a referee in a match in the WNBA final of this year.
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After his ejection last week, Reeve refused to leave the court within a reasonable time. There was just over 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Reeve was launched.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reacts to obtaining a technical fault by an official in the first half of a match 3 of a WNBA Basketball Series match against the Phoenix Mercury on Friday September 26, 2025 in Phoenix. (AP photo / Ross D. Franklin)
Reeve also seemed to lead comments to fans when she left the court. She then targeted the state of the WNBA officiating at the post-match press conference on Friday.
“If that’s what the League wants, ok, but I want to call a change in leadership at the League in commission,” said Reeve. “The crew officiating that we had this evening, so that leadership considers these three people in the semi-finals, is worthy of a professional fault.”
Isaac Barnett, Randy Richardson and Jenna Reneau were the three officials on Friday evening.
The game that attracted the anger of Reeve was Alyssa Thomas flying the balloon at Napheesa Collier near the line of 3 points and leading to the other end for the play-up of the game.
Necklace was injured in the leg on the game and had to be helped in the locker room. Reeve said that collar “probably has a fracture”, even if it has not developed the injury.
Although collar crushed on the court after the collision, the National Basketball Arbider Association published a highlight of the play on social networks explaining why those responsible were right not to denounce.
Lynx coach of Lynx du Minnesota, Cheryl Reeve, second on the right, shouts to managers while he is retained by the associate head coach Eric Thibault, the center and the Lynx goalkeeper Natisha Hiedeman, on the right, after being ejected after winning a second technical fault in the second half of the WNBA Basketball Phoenix. (AP photo / Ross D. Franklin)
“It’s not a fault,” The position indicated. “Thomas arrives legally on the ball and drops the ball before any contact. The leg contact is accidental once the ball is clearly loose.”
Deputy coaches of Minnesota, Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson, were also sentenced to a fine by the League. Thibault was sentenced to a fine for his inappropriate interaction with a field official. Brunson was sentenced to a fine for an inappropriate comment on directed social networks WNBA officials.
According to athletics, Thibault and Brunson each received fines of $ 500.
The point of sale also indicated that the league had inflicted fines of $ 1,000 on the AS coach in Las Vegas, Becky Hammon and the Indiana fever coach Stephanie White, respectively. Discipline followed the support of Reeve coaches and their vocal criticisms of civil servants.
“From what I heard, she did not say a lie. She said the truth,” said Hammon before the Lynx-Mercury semi-finals match on Sunday. “I think something should change.
“When players are in vulnerable positions, like jumping or operating full speed, I think you have to protect them. You have to protect your product. If it was Lebron James, or it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or someone like that, they would protect some of these players.”
Meanwhile, White said Reeve “had made a lot of valid points” and noted that “at some point, there must be some responsibility”.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the stars weekend in July.
“While we are going ahead for officiating, we hear the concerns. We take this contribution from employees,” said Engelbert. “Each game is examined. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we then use it to follow the training of officials.
“Coherence is important. I think some people observe our game against other basketball formats (and think) that there are not a ton of mistakes called, but I realize that consistency is the name of the game.”
