The post Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve received $15,000 fine following Game 3 ejection appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The WNBA fined Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve $15,000 for her outburst during and after Game 3 of Minnesota’s semifinals series against the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, sources told The Athletic. That comes after Reeve was suspended for Game 4, which ended up being a season-ending loss for the Lynx.
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Assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson were also fined $500 each. Thibault’s fine came for an “inappropriate interaction with an official on the court” and Brunson’s for an “inappropriate social media comment directed at WNBA officials,” according to a press release.
The league has also fined Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon $1,000 for agreeing with Reeve’s comments.
Reeve was ejected from Game 3 after storming onto the court when the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas was not called for a foul on a steal that resulted in Lynx star Napheesa Collier’s injury. She then appeared to direct obscenities toward the crowd as she left the court and continued her tirade in the postgame press conference.
“When you let the physicality happen, people get hurt, there’s fights. This is the look that our league wants for some reason,” Reeve said. “We were trying to play through it. We try not to make excuses. One of the best players in the league shot zero free throws. Zero. And she had five fouls. Zero free throws. Had her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out, and probably has a fracture. If this is what our league wants, OK. But I want to call for a change of leadership, at the league level, when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game.”
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“The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy is f***ing malpractice,” she continued. “I can take an L with the best of ’em. I don’t think we should’ve had to play through more than they did. I think it’s f***ing crap. And all of (the refs) tonight, ‘It wasn’t my call. I don’t know. I didn’t have that. I didn’t see it though.’ F***ing awful.”
Related: Becky Hammon, Stephanie White fined for backing Cheryl Reeve’s criticism
Related: Lynx’s Kayla McBride in tears after playoff elimination – ‘S**t f*****g hurts’
