Referees, the men and women responsible for maintaining the integrity of a sport, calling out breaches of the rules and delivering judgment to restore balance between the teams made by the breach in conduct. The question is, who is responsible for keeping the referees honest, and what happens if a referee makes a bad call?
In the 2025 WNBA season, the sport’s audience has vastly increased, with certain stars breaking into mainstream media and drawing greater attention to the league. However, this increased amount of attention has also drawn notice to the actions of the referees, who have been proven to be inconsistent in their calls.
Referees have been shown on several occasions to make incorrect calls, refuse to acknowledge a situation that should be called, and have been suspending or ejecting both players and coaches who have complained about the unfair treatment.
Players have vented their frustrations online and during official press conferences. Fans of the sport have taken recordings of games and dissected each call, pointing out every missed call and mistake made.
The frustration and rage reached a breaking point in the semi-finals when coach Cheryl Reeve lost their composure and raged at an official after a no-call on a player left another player on the floor in pain. Cheryl was suspended for one game for their unprofessional conduct and given a $15,000 fine, the largest fine ever given to a WNBA coach.
The issue was exacerbated when two of Cheryl’s peers, Becky Hammon and Stephanie White, supported her opinions and were each given a $1000 fine for their statements.
It has been widely recognized that the referees of the WNBA need to either receive new training or be replaced, as current staff are simply not performing to the standard necessary for a professional sport. The question is, will this change happen?
