Minnesota Lynx's Coach Cheryl Reeve Suspended By WNBA For 'Verbally Abusing' League Official After Loss

The WNBA has suspended Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve for one game after she blasted the league's officials following her team's Game 3 semifinals loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, September 26.

Reeve was incensed during the final moments of the Lynx's game against the Mercury after her star player, Napheesa Collier, was injured with no foul called.

After noticing Collier was lying on the ground, Reeve rushed one of the referees, resulting in her second technical foul and ejection from the game.

Reeve had to be restrained by her own players and coaching staff as she attempted to follow the referee around the court. A now-viral video also appears to show Reeve swearing at Mercury fans as she was escorted from the arena, prompting the league to issue an official statement condemning her behavior.

According to ESPN, Reeve later blasted the WNBA officials during her post-game conference, calling on the league to raise the bar.

"If this is what the league wants, OK, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating," she said after her team fell to 2-1 in the series. "The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it's f-cking malpractice."

She continued, passionately calling attention to Collier not receiving a free-throw attempt during game 2.

"We were trying to play through it, trying not to make excuses. But one of the best players in the league, she had zero free throws and she had five fouls," she added. "She had her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out."

Reeve said she can "take an L with the best of them," however, she stood by her earlier statements, calling the referees "f-cking awful."

The WNBA's response was swift, making an example out of the veteran head coach who has led the Lynx since 2010.

"Minnesota Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve has been suspended for one game for her conduct and comments during and following the Lynx's 84-76 loss to the Mercury at PHX Arena in Phoenix on Friday," the statement read. "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."

And Reeve isn't the only one being punished. The league also revealed assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson have each been fined for their "inappropriate interaction with an official on the court" and "inappropriate social media comment directed at WNBA officials," respectively.

Reeve is not the first coach to voice frustrations about the league's referees this season. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon has also been critical of the officiating, calling the "physicality is out of control."

"I mean, you can bump and grab a wide receiver in the NFL for those first five yards, but you can do it in the W for the whole half court. You put two hands on somebody like that, it should be an automatic foul," she said.

Earlier this season, the head coach of the Chicago Sky, Tyler Marsh, was also ejected from a game after aggressively approaching a referee following a questionable no-call during a play.

Fans replied to the moment, calling Marsh's "crash out" a valid move.

"The refs need to get a grip, point blank period," someone wrote, while another said the refs simply "refused to do [their] job"

Other fans echoed those sentiments, with one posting, "The ref should feel ashamed of himself. These refs get away with too much. When the coaches or players react, rightfully so, they're penalized."