Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve has been suspended one game and fined for her conduct during and after Friday’s 84-76 loss to the host Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of their WNBA semifinals series, the league announced Saturday.
Minnesota assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson were also fined for separate infractions.
The punishment stems from Reeve’s late-game outburst following a pivotal no-call involving Lynx star Napheesa Collier in the final minute. Reeve pursued and berated a game official on the court, was slow to leave after her ejection with 21.8 seconds remaining, directed profanity toward fans while exiting and later launched into a blistering critique of the league’s officiating in her postgame press conference.
“For the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy is (expletive) malpractice,” she said of the officiating crew.
Video from courtside circulated on social media showing Reeve shouting obscenities at fans as she was escorted off the floor, while the National Basketball Referees Association publicly defended the no-call on the decisive play. Collier left the game with a leg injury, which Reeve suggested could be a fracture.
Reeve, a four-time WNBA champion and one of the league’s most accomplished coaches, will serve her suspension Sunday when the Lynx face the Mercury in Phoenix for Game 4. The series stands at 2-1 in favor of Phoenix.
–Field Level Media
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