The Phoenix Mercury was playing with seven players in the rotation after Satou Sabally missed Game 4 due to a concussion. To defeat the Aces, they needed everyone at their top form, but unfortunately, they saw their HC, Nate Tibbetts, leaving the court after receiving a foul from referee Gina Cross.
Ahead of Game 4, Tibbetts highlighted the irregularity in officiating. It was another challenge his side faced while playing against the Aces. And now his ejection after receiving two technicals shocked him.
Nate Tibbetts Amazed By Ejection
Phoenix Mercury’s Nate Tibbetts shared a blunt response after the third straight loss and wanted his side to take one game at a time to be able to achieve the difficult task of coming back from a 3-0 deficit. The first task at hand was Game 4 at the PHX arena.
With the Aces already looking in control of the game, Tibbetts demanded more from his players and, on one occasion, blasted at referee Cross with the emotions out of control. He received a double technical foul with 2:41 left in the third quarter after he argued and got in referee’s face.
Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has been EJECTED from the game 😱#WNBAFinals pic.twitter.com/r1SBD15p2U
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 11, 2025
According to the rulebook, any aggressive confrontation with the referee results in a technical foul. However, the HC missed the second technical foul call and looked surprised when the arena staff came to escort him off the court.
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The Mercury trailed the Aces by 14 points at the time, and following Tibbett’s ejection, the side kept on fighting against the odds and managed to match the Aces bucket by bucket before losing the game 97-86 at the final whistle. After the game, the Mercury HC made his feelings clear about the technical fouls. –
Nate Tibbetts Slams Technical Fouls Called
During the post-game interview, the second-year coach reacted to his ejection and called the second technical foul the weakest one he had ever seen. Even though the Aces were in control of the game from the start, the ejection of the head coach impacted the Mercury‘s gameplay.
Tibbetts said, “It’s embarrassing. I think it was the weakest double-technical ever. I didn’t even know I got the second one, to be completely honest.”
He mentioned that he feels bad for the fans and team. He even added that there had been issues with the officiating all year and that it needs to be addressed. The Mercury team will be looking to keep their coach for the next season and hand him an even stronger team to end the decade-long wait for the championship.