The Women’s National Basketball Association finals are underway with the surprise powerhouse, the Phoenix Mercury, taking on the reigning champions, the Las Vegas Aces. The semi-finals featured two action packed matches between the Minnesota Lynx versus the Mercury, and the Indiana Fever versus the Aces. The Mercury, led by Alyssa Thomas and Satuo Sabally, defeated the Lynx three games to one in the five game series. This was a surprise as the Lynx dominated the regular season, but with two of their key players, Dijonai Carrington and Napheesa Collier, down, the Mercury took advantage. On the other side of the bracket, we saw the resilient Fever take the Aces all the way to overtime in game five, where they ultimately lost, three games to two, to the seasoned Aces team.
Game three of the Lynx versus Mercury match-up was electrifying, but it was the action in the final minute that caused waves. Thomas went for a steal against Collier and their legs ended up colliding, leaving Collier injured. Whether or not this was a foul is up for debate, but in the game, the referees did not call a foul. This made the Lynx head coach, Cheryl Reeve, very upset. She stormed across the court to the referee who made the call and started screaming in their face. This caused her to get ejected from the game, and as she walked off, she continued to let her true feelings show. In Reeve’s post-game interview, she expressed her disdain even more, saying, “the officiating crew that we had tonight . . . for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy . . . is [expletive] malpractice.” Due to these actions, Reeve was suspended from game 4 and given a hefty $15,000 fine. In addition, when the head coaches of the Fever, Stephanie White,and Aces, Becky Hammon, publicly agreed with Reeve’s statements, they were also fined $1,000 each.
Lynx star Collier had her exit press conference interview the other day, and she was not shy about expressing similar worries to those of Reeve about the league. Collier explained, “the real threat to our league… is the lack of accountability from the league office . . . what is truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games . . . coaches, both winning and losing, pointed out every night in pregame and postgame media. Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the other way.” Collier expresses how important this issue is to her, saying, “our leadership’s answer to being held accountable is to suppress everyone’s voices by handing out fines. I’m not concerned about a fine. I’m concerned about the future of our sport.” In the wake of her statements, many other players, including Dearica Hamby, Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Alysha Clark, Angel Reese, and others, expressed their support for her statements.
It is clear, as the WNBA season is winding down, that the players and coaches are fed up with the mediocre leadership of the league, specifically regarding refereeing. Another ongoing issue in the league is the current Collective Bargaining Association negotiations, which Collier is also spearheading. The players are fighting for more pay, specifically equal revenue share. As the league grows, the players understand that their value grows as well, and they want their revenue share to reflect their value. The players are even ready for a lockout in the 2026 WNBA season if their pay demands are not met. The players and coaches of the WNBA are demanding a systematic change from their leadership, and it is clear they will not back down. We will have to wait and see what comes of their push for change. Women’s sports, specifically basketball, are prospering, and the players deserve to as well.