Women's Fastbreak On SI

Sheryl Swoopes Echoes Kelsey Plum With Blunt WNBA Referee Complaint

WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes sees eye-to-eye with Kelsey Plum in assessing the biggest issue with the league's referees.
Grant Young|
Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WBNA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024
Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WBNA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024 | Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

When speaking with the media on July 18, Los Angeles Sparks standout and 2025 WNBA All-Star Kelsey Plum was very clear about what the biggest problem with the league's referees is right now.

"I have no problem with the physicality. I think people are frustrated with the consistency," Plum said, per an X post from Robin Lundberg of Women's Fastbreak on SI. "So it's like a ticky-tack here, and then someone gets absolutely assaulted over here, and like, where's the line? And where do we call it, and why do we call it?"

She later added, "So it's like, hey, if you're not gonna call it in the first, that's fine. But don't call it in the fourth. Or let me guard them that way that they guard me... I think that, just the officiating across the board, people have been frustrated with the lack of consistency."

Plum isn't alone in seeking more consistency from the league's referees. Not only has this been a common complaint from current players, but WNBA icons like Sheryl Swoopes share this same sentiment, which Swoopes conveyed during a July 15 episode of the Gil's Arena podcast.

"Just the inconsistency from the refs. I don't think the refs really truly know how to call our game, if I'm being very honest," Swoopes said. "Because we're supposed to have that rule, where you're not supposed to put two hands, you can't bump them off when they're making a move. And it's just very inconsistent."

Unfortunately, despite present and former players in the league agreeing that the referees aren't consistent, diagnosing this problem doesn't make it any easier to fix.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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