Cheryl Reeve Gets Blunt About 'Unprecedented' $15,000 WNBA Fine for Referee Tirade

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sent a clear message about the historic fine she received for her actions last weekend.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve yells instructions to her team during the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena on July 9, 2025. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Anybody who follows women's basketball is well aware of the tirade that Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve went on in the wake of being ejected from her team's September 26 WNBA Semifinals loss to the Phoenix Mercury.

Reeve (who was ejected and escorted off the arena for going at a referee because they didn't call a foul for Minnesota star player Napheesa Collier during a pivotal play in the game) went scorched earth on the WNBA and its officials after the game ended.

She said, "We talked about how dangerous it can be. You're hearing it from the other series. You're hearing other coaches. You're hearing Becky [Hammon] talk about, when you let the physicality happen, people get hurt, there's fights, and this is the look that our league wants for some reason."

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reacts after being ejected from the game during their 84-76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury during Game 3 of WNBA semifinals at PHX Arena on Sept. 26, 2025. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"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 semi-finals playoff worthy is f***ing malpractice," Reeve continued.

Cheryl Reeve Gets Clear About Viral WNBA Referee Fine Received

Reeve was both suspended for Minnesota's next game (which they lost, therefore eliminating them from the 2025 WNBA playoffs) and fined $15,000 for everything that happened on Friday night, per a September 29 article from Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic. This is the biggest fine in WNBA history, according to Bleacher Report.

The four-time WNBA champion head coach did an exit interview on September 30 and didn't back down from what she said.

"Obviously, not easy. That's probably an understatement," Reeve said when asked how she has handled the aftermath of everything that happened, per a video from the FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul YouTube account. "The leadership makes their decisions. An unprecedented response. Those are things you can't anticipate in the moment.

"I think for me, being a principled person, there are things I care deeply about. And that's my players' health and safety. That's the fairness to our organization. And when those things are challenged, if I'm not going to speak up, who's going to?" she continued.

"So I feel a great responsibility to that end. I wish I was with the team in the last game, but obviously not. So it was hard. Really hard."

Props to Reeve for always being willing to have her players and organization's back, despite the "unprecedented" punishment she ended up receiving from the WNBA for doing so.