Cheryl Reeve has been handed a one-game suspension for her actions. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Lynx are staring down the barrel of elimination, trailing 2-1 in their semifinal series against the Phoenix Mercury, and now they have to face a do-or-die Game 4 without their leader on the sidelines.
So, what exactly pushed Reeve over the edge? Let’s just say she wasn’t thrilled with the officiating. And by “not thrilled,” I mean she went completely ballistic.
What Led to the Reeve Suspension?
The whole spectacle kicked off in the nail-biting final seconds of Game 3. With the game on the line, Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier went down in a heap on a play where, mysteriously, no foul was called. To Reeve, and frankly to anyone with a working pair of eyes, it looked like a clear foul. Reeve was irate, and it was a scary site.
She stormed the court, getting right in the face of an official, and let loose a torrent of criticism that earned her a second technical foul and an automatic ejection. But Reeve wasn’t done. She had to be physically held back as she continued to make her feelings known, giving the refs, and even some fans on her way out, an earful.
If you thought the fireworks were over, you’d be wrong. The post-game press conference was where Reeve truly delivered her masterpiece. “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 declared, before dropping a beautifully timed F-bomb for emphasis. “The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it’s f—ing malpractice.”
You just can’t say that. We all might think it from time to time, but you can’t say it. The league, predictably, was not amused.
The WNBA’s Official Ruling
In a statement that was about as dry as Reeve’s was passionate, the WNBA laid out the laundry list of her transgressions. They cited her for “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official,” her scenic route off the court post-ejection, and, of course, her “inappropriate comments” during that now-legendary press conference.
Now, the Lynx are in a serious bind. Heading into a hostile environment in Phoenix for an elimination game is tough enough. Doing it without your four-time champion head coach is a monumental task.
