Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve made waves after she was ejected from the end of Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals between the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury for going ballistic on referees for a no-call on a play that resulted in star Napheesa Collier going down with an injury.
Reeve had to be restrained from going after the officials and then torched them in her postgame conference, referring to the officiating and a lack of accountability from the league “f***ing” malpractice. Her actions and comments resulted in her being both suspended for the next game, which the Lynx lost, and fined.
“I want to call for a change in leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” Reeve said (via FOX 9 Minneapolis- St. Paul). “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.”
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is held back after being ejected during game three against the Phoenix Mercury of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Now, one of the three officials from the crew that Reeve called out has received a major promotion. Jenna Reneau, who was listed as one of the three officials from that game, was just hired as an NBA referee for the 2025-26 season, the league announced Wednesday.
According to the NBA’s press release, Reneau has worked 30 NBA regular-season games as a non-staff official over the course of the last four seasons. She also has nine years of experience officiating in the G-League, officiated men’s and women’s basketball games in the 2024 Olympic Games, and, the part that Reeve is well aware of, Reneau has officiated the last four WNBA playoffs.
LA Sparks guard Odyssey Sims (0) talks with referee Jenna Reneau (77) in the second half against the Atlanta Dream at Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
“We are very pleased to welcome Biniam, Pat and Jenna [Reneau] to our NBA officiating staff,” NBA Executive Vice President, head of referee operations Albert Sanders said in the press release. “Each official has consistently demonstrated the growth, professionalism, and performance quality to officiate NBA games on a regular basis.”
The basis of Reeve’s issues with the officiating in that fateful game was more with the leadership of the WNBA and a lack of accountability or discipline systems for poor officials. Reeve’s sentiment was echoed by Collier in her now-famous statement during her exit interview where she torched WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert for a number of issues, officials being one of them.
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) listens to referee Jenna Reneau (77) in the first half against the LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Collier said that she asked Engelbert how she would handle poor officiating in the WNBA. Engelbert’s response?
“Well, only the losers complain about the refs.”
However, it does appear that there’s a solution to the referees who are being criticized: hire them to the NBA.