The Phoenix Mercury were clutch in Game 3 against the Minnesota Lynx, and the most memorable ‘decisive’ moment in the matchup came when Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Napheesa Collier to make the layup. The Lynx HC, Cheryl Reeve, lost her control as she ran onto the court to confront the officials. She received a technical foul for her actions and was escorted out of the court.
Later, Reeve criticized officiating after the game in the post-game interview. But her comments didn’t go well with the league authorities, who took strict action against her.
Cheryl Reeve Suspended For Game 4 Against Phoenix Mercury
It was inevitable, and the veteran coach knew about it the moment she talked about the officiating in the post-game interview. While the Aces HC Becky Hammon blasted the physicality of the game and the Fever HC Stephanie White also criticized the number of fouls called in the game, their language and use of words were within the ‘limits’.
But the Lynx head coach, already angry about the play by Alyssa Thomas, let loose and spoke bluntly about the officiating.
“I want to call for a change of leadership, at the league level, when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy is f***ing malpractice. I can take an L with the best of ’em... 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... didn’t have that. I didn’t see it though.’ F***ing awful,” Reeve said in the press conference.
Minnesota Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve Suspended pic.twitter.com/RgBAwRwOZa
— WNBA Communications (@WNBAComms) September 27, 2025
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The league quickly took action against the 59-year-old coach, suspending her for the next game. As per the official statement from the WNBA, the suspension came in wake of “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.”
While Napheesa Collier’s availability in Game 4 is still unclear, Reeve’s absence on the sidelines will be a massive problem for the league leaders, who are on the verge of elimination.
Referee Association Comments On Cheryl Reeve’s ‘Foul’ Claims
The instance that aggravated the situation was Alyssa Thomas’ defensive play on Napheesa Collier. Cameras caught Collier’s brutal collision with Alyssa Thomas in Game 3. Though the Lynx star twisted her ankle and walked out of the court, the Lynx coach argued with the referees for the foul call.
The NBA Referees’ Association cleared the picture, sharing a post and mentioning the reasons for ‘no foul’. The post reads, “Thomas legally gets to the ball and knocks the ball loose prior to any contact. The leg to leg contact is incidental once the ball is clearly loose.”
This is NOT a foul. Thomas legally gets to the ball and knocks the ball loose prior to any contact. The leg to leg contact is incidental once the ball is clearly loose. This was correctly judged in real time as a no call as were the subsequent technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/kdImDRwsNe
— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) September 27, 2025
Although the association took a stand for one particular play, the experienced coach pointed out that no foul calls on Collie and zero free throws for her in the game remain a mystery.