A season defined by poor officiating came to a head in the WNBA Finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts sounded off on the league after his shocking third-quarter ejection from the team\u2019s season-ending Game 4 loss to the Aces, who claimed the title with a sweep<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tibbetts said he never received an explanation for the \u201cbulls\u2013t\u201d double technical foul call that booted him from the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing. I feel bad that I was tossed,\u201d Tibbetts told reporters<\/a> after the 97-86 loss. \u201cI\u2019ve been around this game a long time, I think it\u2019s one of the weakest double technicals ever. I didn\u2019t even know that I got the second one, to be completely honest.<\/p>\n Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts walks off the court after being ejected in the third quarter against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, Oct. 10. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI feel bad for our team, our fans, my family,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t needed in my opinion. I\u2019d love to hear their call. But yeah, it was weak. We\u2019re playing for our playoff lives. Most coaches, when they get tossed, you\u2019re doing it on purpose, and that was not my intention at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Tibbetts exited the game shortly after Mercury guard Kahleah Copper drew contact on a drive to the hoop but didn\u2019t receive a whistle, and then guard Monique Akoa Makani was charged for a ticky-tack foul on the next possession.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Phoenix head coach approached referee Gina Cross to criticize the call and was promptly issued a double technical foul.<\/p>\n Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts yells at official Gina Cross after a foul during the second half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, Oct. 10. AP<\/p>\n Tibbetts explained that he \u201cprobably\u201d deserved a technical for what he initially said to Cross, but was dumbfounded when it became enough to have him ejected.<\/p>\n It marked his second straight game with a technical foul, but his first career ejection \u2014 and the first time a head coach has ever been ejected from a WNBA Finals game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been issues with the officiating all year,\u201d Tibbetts said, following a game in which Aces star A\u2019ja Wilson<\/a> shot as many free throws (19) as the entire Mercury team.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I didn\u2019t deserve that. I thought it was bulls\u2013t.\u201d<\/p>\n Las Vegas Aces center A\u2019ja Wilson, center right, holds up her MVP trophy after Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Oct. 10. AP<\/p>\n Poor officiating has been a heated topic of discussion around the league this season, one that has finally reached a boiling point during the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve got ejected during Game 3 of the semifinals against Phoenix for arguing after a play in which star Napheesa Collier got injured.<\/p>\n Reeve was subsequently suspended for Game 4, which the Lynx lost without Collier.<\/p>\n Tibbets during Game 4. Getty Images<\/p>\n