The 2025 WNBA season ended with unprecedented criticism of officiating and the leaders in charge of its improvement.<\/p>\n
As the WNBA nears the halfway point of the 2026 season, that same topic\u00a0has once again taken center stage. In some instances, poor officiating has even overshadowed the accomplishments in the league\u2019s 30th anniversary season. Perhaps the best example arrived last week when a no-call on a loose ball play between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas ignited days of debate and a retroactive one-game suspension for Thomas, who also received death threats<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of been a discussion for three years now, and I think we really need to do a better job protecting the people in this league,\u201d Clark said Friday. \u201cI\u2019ve been involved in a few of those plays, but there\u2019s been plenty of others across the league that haven\u2019t been called. You go back postgame or whatever it is, teams submit clips and nothing changes. I think overall the league has to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n Following two years of what players, coaches and executives felt was an uptick in physicality, pleas for enhanced officiating appeared to be heard when commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced concrete measures to fix the issues at the end of the 2025 season. A task force comprised of eight general managers and coaches met during the offseason and honed in on a list of priorities, starting with calling illegal contact more regularly to allow for freedom of movement. Other incidental concerns included enforcing the defensive three-second rule, regularly calling illegal closeouts and establishing a clear understanding of the demarcation line between legal and illegal contact.<\/p>\n Despite the action taken this offseason, which also included hiring long-time WNBA official Eric Brewton to a newly created referee performance and development advisor position, the league is still facing a slew of complaints. The persistent concerns from general managers and coaches center on a lack of consistency and accountability, and the need for additional resources that will bring the WNBA\u2019s officiating standards closer to those of the NBA.<\/p>\n Coaches and general managers from eight teams, who spoke to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity to avoid being fined, agreed that the quality of WNBA officiating remains subpar. They argued that the need for added investment into a last two-minute report, a replay center and a pipeline that keeps high-quality officials in the league is paramount.<\/p>\n \u201cDangle a bigger carrot,\u201d one WNBA coach said. \u201cPay them more money. Go get better talent to come to the W. I don\u2019t think we have the best talent. We have the best league in the world, but we don\u2019t have the best talent.\u201d<\/p>\n Physicality has been an issue in the WNBA for years, but it reached a heightened level in 2024 \u2014 so much so that some questioned if there was a directive that came down from league leadership for officials to allow for more physical play.<\/p>\n The emphasis on freedom of movement by the task force \u2014 made of Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, Fever coach Stephanie White, Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello, Connecticut Sun GM Morgan Tuck, Dallas Wings GM Curt Miller, New York Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb, Minnesota Lynx coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve, and Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon \u2014 led to an uptick in foul calls year over year. The WNBA averaged 44 fouls per game through the first 10 days of the 2026 season compared to 38.7 through the first 10 days of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n The league averaged roughly 39.6 fouls per game through about 20 games compared to 36.2 fouls per game through roughly 20 games last season. But there are also two new teams to account for. The WNBA totaled 9,990 personal fouls in 2025, amounting to roughly 34.9 fouls called per game throughout the entire season.<\/p>\n But nearly three months into this season, there\u2019s concern that the status quo is returning.<\/p>\n \u201cEarly on, there was an over-correction trying to get the freedom of movement where we want it,\u201d a WNBA general manager said. \u201cIt\u2019s level set. We have to be careful. There was a universal directive to minimize physicality. As it level sets, we can\u2019t fall back into the over-physical game.\u201d<\/p>\n Blatant errors and missed calls have been other key concerns throughout the first half of the season. Multiple coaches said the emphasis on enforcing the defensive three-second rule is largely being ignored.<\/p>\n One prime example of the more egregious officiating errors came during the Chicago Sky\u2019s game against the Dallas Wings on June 20.<\/p>\n The Sky had seen their 17-point lead cut to one with under a minute to play and possession.<\/p>\n On three straight possessions, officials appeared to miss three calls that impacted the outcome of the game. The first came when Sky center Kamilla Cardoso was whistled for a backcourt violation. The next came when she was whistled for a drawn foul on Li Yueru, who subsequently sank two free throws to give the Wings a one-point lead. The last was a no-call as Azur\u00e1 Stevens drew contact on a shot attempt under the basket as time expired.<\/p>\n The league does not typically acknowledge officiating errors publicly, but after reviewing the plays, it was determined and shared with the Sky that all three were blown calls, multiple team sources told The Athletic.<\/p>\n The Chicago Sky lost to the Dallas Wings last night on a few calls that went against them. SOUND UP for explanation on why the crucial backcourt violation was NOT THE RIGHT CALL and the Sky should’ve kept possession with 30 secs left, up by 1. pic.twitter.com\/2grogyBVDD<\/a><\/p>\n