Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve fined $15,000 for playoff outburst and critiques of officials, per report

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has been fined $15,000 for her outburst during Game 3 of her team’s semifinal series against the Phoenix Mercury and subsequent comments criticizing the league and the officials, according to The Athletic. Reeve was also suspended for her team’s season-ending Game 4 defeat on Sunday. 

The WNBA also fined Lynx assistants Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson for their reactions to the controversial end of Game 3. Thibault was dinged for an “inappropriate interaction with an official on the court,” while Brunson was punished for an “inappropriate social media comment directed at WNBA officials.” Per The Athletic, Thibault and Brunson were each fined $500. 

Furthermore, The Athletic reported that Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon and Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White were both fined $1,000 for supporting Reeve and their public criticisms of referees. 

Game 3 between the Lynx and Mercury ended in controversial fashion when Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Napheesa Collier in the final minute and collided with the Minnesota star in the process. As Thomas coasted to the other end for the game-sealing layup, Collier lay on the ground in pain with a lower leg injury that would force her to miss Game 4. No foul was called on the play, and Reeve stormed on the court to berate the officials. 

Reeve was immediately ejected, but failed to leave the court in a timely manner. When she finally made her way down the tunnel, she shouted profanities at the Mercury fans. Instead of taking questions at her postgame press conference, Reeve delivered a monologue about officiating, not just in Game 3, but in general. 

Here are Reeve’s comments in full:

“We talked about how dangerous it can be. You’re hearing it from the other series, you’re hearing it from other coaches, you’re hearing [Las Vegas Aces coach] Becky [Hammon] talk about, when you let the physicality happen, people get hurt, there’s fights. And this is the look that our league wants, for some reason. 

“We were trying to play through it, we were trying not to make excuses. One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero. And she had five fouls. Zero free throws. Got her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out, and probably has a fracture. 

“And so this is what our league wants. OK, but I want to call for a change in leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. 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—ing malpractice. I can take an L with the best of them. I don’t think we should have to play through more than what they did. We’ve got players — [Maria Kliundikova’s] on the glass, gets f—ing cracked and there’s no call. And all of them say, ‘It wasn’t my call. I don’t know. I didn’t see it that way.’ They’re f—ing awful.” 

Hammon and White supported Reeve before Game 4 of the semifinal series between the Aces and Fever. 

“From what I heard, she did not tell a lie. She said the truth,” Hammon said. “I think something has to change.

“When players are in vulnerable positions, such as jumping or running full speed, I think you have to protect them. You have to protect your product. If that was LeBron James, or that was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or somebody like that, they would protect some of those players.”

White said that Reeve “made a lot of valid points” and added that “at some point, there has to be some accountability.”

“Every part of our league has gotten better, and that part has lagged behind, for whatever reason,” White continued. “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.”

Hammon had also previously criticized officials for allowing too much contact in the playoffs, saying that the physicality is “out of control” and would lead to fights in the NBA. White, likewise, has been a frequent critic of referees and was fined multiple times earlier this season.