PHOENIX — As WNBA officials face renewed criticism from coaches and players pointed at the level of physicality throughout the season, league sources told ESPN that their data does not show any correlation between the rash of recent playoff injuries and missed calls by officials.
WNBA Referee Operations reviews data throughout the season to address what league sources refer to as “legitimate criticism” and pinpoint areas officials need to improve on. Through that process, the referee operations committee found that allegations that officiating errors have led to more injuries were unfounded, league sources told ESPN.
There has been a public outcry from some top players and coaches demanding that the league address what they feel is poor officiating. Most recently, Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was suspended after calling for a change of leadership on the league level surrounding who hires and assigns officials to games.
Reeve will serve the suspension during Game 4 of the Lynx’s semifinal series against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
Reeve said it was “malpractice” for the WNBA to assign the three referees who worked Game 3, questioning their credentials after her star player, Napheesa Collierwas injured in the closing seconds when Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas collided with her after stealing the ball away from the MVP runner-up. No foul was called on the play.
On Sunday, Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who called out the officiating ahead of Game 1 of her team’s semifinal series against the Indiana Feversupported Reeve and her comments.
“From what I heard, she did not tell a lie. She said the truth,” Hammon said.
The same officiating crew that worked Game 3 in Phoenix is working Game 4 in Indiana on Sunday.
Previously, Hammon said the level of physicality that WNBA referees are allowing would never be tolerated in any other league.
Fever coach Stephanie White said Reeve “made a lot of valid points.”
“Every part of our league has gotten better, and that part has lagged behind, for whatever reason,” White said. “Oftentimes it’s infrastructure in terms of training, oftentimes it’s financial. And it’s really investing in who we have as officials, and sometimes it’s manpower. Who’s coming into the program? How do we get them to stick around? How do we keep them growing and getting better? Do we have more resources to support them? Do we have more resources to help, whether it’s something like a replay center? And those are conversations that continue to be ongoing.”
The league goes through a three-pillar vetting process to determine its officials, sources said. First, there is a review by the WNBA referee officials. Second, there is a panel of independent reviewers who look at the refs and their body of work. Third, there is a text line coaches can send feedback to after every single game. There are also midseason and end-of-season reviews of all of the officials.
The WNBA will not punish — through fines or suspensions — officials for a singular error, but it instead assesses their body of work through the season. If there is a common string of mistakes, that will be addressed, sources said.
