After her team went down 2-1 in the WNBA semifinals and came perilously close to a postseason exit, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve stepped into her postgame press conference in Phoenix with a mission.
Responding to a physical game and a physical series as well as a potential injury to Lynx star Napheesa Collier on the final play of the 84-76 loss, Reeve dropped an expletive-filled statement from the podium, describing the Game 3 officiating as “f*cking malpractice” and calling for change in the WNBA league office.
“When you let the physicality happen, people get hurt, there’s fights,” Reeve said. “And this is the look our league wants for some reason.”
Reeve highlighted the fact that Collier tallied five personal fouls while not shooting a single free-throw on the other end. And she pointed to similar trends throughout the WNBA postseason while demanding that the league address it.
“I want to call for a change in leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” she added. “It’s bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy, is f*cking malpractice.”
“The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy, is fucking malpractice.”
Minnesota Lynch coach Cheryl Reeve following Friday’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury, where she was ejected.pic.twitter.com/GXHYJmra8y
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 27, 2025
Down 4 with under a minute to play, Minnesota turned the ball over, and the Mercury converted on the other end. As Collier went down and the game slipped away, Reeve exploded along the opposite baseline. Undeterred by a second technical foul and an ejection, Reeve was held back by Minnesota coaches and players before being pulled down the tunnel.
At her press conference, Reeve suggested Collier fractured her ankle on the play.
Reeve, who was ejected and escorted to the locker room, has long been a critic of WNBA officiating during her prolific coaching career. But over the past couple of years, as the Lynx have risen back to the top of the league, Reeve has ramped up her criticism.
On Friday night, Reeve was critical of the Game 3 officials for sidestepping accountability and allowing excessive physicality:
“It was f*cking awful.”
After her team lost the WNBA Finals in 2024 in the final moments of the final game, Reeve struck a similar tune. The four-time champion head coach all but blamed that loss on inconsistent officiating.
At that time, Reeve called for the officials to have a “third party” to confer with, similar to the NBA replay center in New Jersey.
A year later, Reeve is ready to take on the league more aggressively. And she is no longer giving polite remarks about it.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.