The WNBA did not take kindly to Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve’s comments.
The league suspended Reeve for one game in response to Reeve’s fiery comments regarding the officiating and her behavior during and after Minnesota’s 84-76 Game 3 loss to the Mercury in the WNBA semifinals.
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Reeve is set to serve the suspension in Game 4 for her “conduct and comments” in Phoenix on Sunday, in which the Lynx face elimination.
Cheryl Reeve yells at officials during the Lynx 84-76 road loss to the Mercury in Game 3 of their WNBA basketball playoff semifinals series game on Sept. 26, 2025. AP
During Friday’s game, Reeve had to be escorted off the court after lambasting an official following an injury to Napheesa Collier.
Reeve then berated the officials as a collective during a postgame interview after the loss, saying that she wanted a “change of leadership.”
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is held back after being ejected during Game 3 of Minnesota’s loss to the Mercury. Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
“If this is what the league wants, OK, but I want to call for a change in leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” Reeve told reporters. “The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem these people semifinal-playoff worthy, it’s f–king malpractice.”
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In a statement made Saturday, the WNBA said that Reeve’s suspension stems from “her conduct and comments included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection with 21.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference.”
Cheryl Reeve reacts during the first half of the Lynx Game 3 road loss to the Mercury. Getty Images
In addition to Reeve’s punishment, Lynx assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson was fined for writing a post on X which was directed at the referees.
“Yeah, this happened!” Brunson wrote. “Take out one of the best players in the league because you have no control of the game!”
Minnesota associate head coach was also dealt a technical during Friday’s game for yelling at the officials.
