{"id":262723,"date":"2025-10-31T11:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/262723\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:10:08","slug":"coty-natalie-nakase-sends-firm-message-to-cathy-engelbert-over-wnba-officiating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/262723\/","title":{"rendered":"COTY Natalie Nakase Sends Firm Message to Cathy Engelbert Over WNBA Officiating"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, nearly 3,000 to 4,000 referees go through evaluations by the NBA\u2019s scouting department, yet only a select few advance to the G League pipeline \u2013 the gateway to the pros. This feeder system doesn\u2019t just test their physical readiness but also pushes them to master the rulebook and apply it with precision. It\u2019s why Monty McCutchen, the NBA\u2019s head of officiating, proudly calls them \u201cthe best-trained women\u2019s officials in the world.\u201d But if you ask the W\u2019s 2025 Coach of the Year, she might not agree!<\/p>\n

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And while Cathy Engelbert had already addressed the elephant in the room during All-Star Weekend in July, saying, \u201cAs we go forward on the officiating, we hear the concerns. We take that employee input\u2026 Every play is reviewed. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we use that then to follow up with officials\u2019 training.\u201d But clearly, the league\u2019s efforts haven\u2019t been enough. And that\u2019s where Natalie Nakase steps in \u2013 to tell how it should really be done.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the October 30 episode of \u201cA Touch More\u201d<\/a> podcast with hosts Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, Nakase said<\/a>, \u201cI think number one, it starts with bettering yourself in the offseason. So right away, I would like to know what is their training? What are the requirements to be a WNBA ref? That\u2019s kind of where I want to start because, like you said, maybe they\u2019re just not at that level.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Imago<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cI mean, the WNBA is the top. So how can we get better? Are they watching film? Are they studying? They need to also study the players too-how they move, how they maneuver-because then you kind of see like how players are getting extra calls or maybe even flopping\u2026 So I just think the training has to be at a level\u2026 I mean the players, the coaches, like we\u2019re all doing things in the off-season. So I think that has to be there to raise the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Well, the Playoffs were a perfect example of what Nakase was talking about, especially Indiana\u2019s 90\u201368 semifinal Game 2 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. That\u2019s because in just two minutes into the game, the first of 43 personal fouls was called. What followed then were whistles that echoed through the Aces\u2019 home court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very frustrating, very frustrating,\u201d Fever head coach Stephanie White said post-game, calling out the officiating.\u00a0And that wasn\u2019t the only controversial moment. <\/p>\n

In another playoff matchup, Nakase found herself on the other side of it. She earned a technical foul during her team\u2019s 101\u201372 loss to the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx in Round 1. For Nakase, it was the referees who didn\u2019t allow her team to play with the same physicality as their opponents.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI want a fair fight. I really do\u2026 I want a clean fight, but I love that both teams are playing their hearts out. They\u2019re fighting. But I\u2019d like it to be fair. And for me, that\u2019s why I got a [technical foul], because at what point is it going to be fair?\u201d she said during her post-game press conference.<\/p>\n

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She also emphasized that her team didn\u2019t get the whistles they deserved, while Minnesota seemed to get the benefit<\/a> of the doubt. Notably, the Lynx recorded 24 free throw attempts compared to the Valkyries\u2019 27, which was an increase from their regular-season averages of 16.1 for Minnesota and 18.4 for Golden State. Yet, that wasn\u2019t enough to satisfy the first-year head coach.<\/p>\n

Why? Because for her, it\u2019s about balance and consistency. \u201cWe\u2019re playing the best team in the league\u2026 They don\u2019t need any help. This team is great. They\u2019re stacked. They play well. They play beautiful basketball. They\u2019re coached well. They don\u2019t need the help,\u201d she added. And she wasn\u2019t wrong-just look back at the 2024 WNBA Finals Game 5, when the championship swung because of free throws.<\/p>\n

So yes, Nakase\u2019s points are valid, especially her call for referees to study film and understand player movement. She\u2019s right; many players take advantage of officiating tendencies to draw extra calls. As Megan Rapinoe added, \u201cPlayers are smart-they\u2019re going to manipulate and take every single advantage available to them. So you\u2019ve got to be at that level too.\u201d A fitting example? Breanna Stewart, often discussed for her high number of free throws. But now the real question is-will the league actually put these insights into action?<\/p>\n

A look at existing rules and changes<\/p>\n

Every year, a competition committee consisting of coaches, general managers, and members of the Board of Governors meets in November to discuss potential rule changes. Once the committee decides which changes it wants to propose, it presents them to the Board for a vote. That\u2019s how the process works. <\/p>\n

But in the W, there\u2019s already an existing rule that penalizes officials for repeated wrong calls. According to this rule, referees can be fined-not for a single missed call or one overturned by a challenge-but for showing a pattern of inconsistency. This directly affects their chances of advancing to the playoffs or receiving high-profile game assignments.<\/p>\n

As McCutchen explained, \u201cWe\u2019ve fined for misapplication of rules. We\u2019ve fined for inappropriate behavior either with team personnel or, let\u2019s say, online\u2026 We hold people accountable in various ways to their body of work. We have an \u2018on notice\u2019 program that if you get put on notice and your work does not improve, we move to separate from that arrangement.\u201d So yes, the rules exist, but the real issue seems to lie in their implementation. Still, the question remains-will Cathy Engelbert take Nakase\u2019s valid points into account?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each year, nearly 3,000 to 4,000 referees go through evaluations by the NBA\u2019s scouting department, yet only a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-262723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}