Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected during the third quarter of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, in which the Mercury fell 97-86 and lost the Finals to the Las Vegas Aces.<\/p>\n
Tibbetts received a double-technical foul with 2:41 left in the third quarter when he got in the face of one of the officials after a foul was called on Monique Akoa Makani. The Mercury were down 68-54 at the time of the ejection.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts, left, yells at official Lamont Simpson (38) after a foul during the second half of Game 4 of the WNBA finals against the Las Vegas Aces, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Rick Scuteri, Associated Press<\/p>\n
Tibbetts wasn\u2019t pleased with the call and even used profanity when describing how he felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, it\u2019s embarrassing,\u201d Tibbetts said. \u201cI feel bad that I was tossed. I\u2019ve been around this game for a long time, I think it\u2019s one of the weakest double technicals ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tibbetts didn\u2019t get an explanation from the officials after the call and said that his words that earned him the first technical foul weren\u2019t repeatable, but he walked away from that interaction and earned his second.<\/p>\n
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Official Roy Gulbeyan said that Tibbetts used profanity after the foul was called on Akoa Makani, which earned him the first technical.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the first technical was assessed, Coach Tibbetts stepped in closer aggressively to the calling official and again yelled,\u201d Gulbeyan said. \u201cAt that point, a second technical was assessed, and he was ejected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tibbetts was surprised by the ejection.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know that I got the second one, to be completely honest,\u201d Tibbetts said. \u201cI don\u2019t understand it. I feel bad for our team, our fans. It wasn\u2019t needed, in my opinion. I\u2019d love to hear their call, but it was weak. We\u2019re playing for our playoff lives. Most coaches, when they get tossed, you\u2019re doing it on purpose. That was not my intention at all. But there\u2019s been issues with the officiating all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tibbetts\u2019 ejection was so quick that the players were shocked when he left abruptly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know when he got the first tech, so I was confused about the ejection,\u201d Kahleah Copper said. \u201cI was trying to figure it out at first. When he was gone, it was just another form of adversity in the year. Let\u2019s just add on to it. Let\u2019s just play hard, and that\u2019s what we about. When you talk about Mercury basketball, we never going to quit. We get after it. We can handle whatever you throw at us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Associate head coach Kristi Tolliver took over Tibbetts\u2019 duties for the remainder of the game.<\/p>\n
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