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WNBA Ref Ripped for Giving Fever Coach Technical Foul for Silly Reason
The Indiana Fever, who were once again without Caitlin Clark, were able to get their third straight victory Wednesday night with a 107-101 win over DeWanna Bonner and the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
One moment from late in the game had WNBA fans furious with the refs, as Fever coach Stephanie White was called for a technical foul after slapping the scorer's table in frustration.
A closer look at the play, which happened with the Fever up by 10 points and just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, shows that White was frustrated with one of her players for committing an obvious foul. But the ref didn't see it that way and T'd her up.
Here's how that went down:
Getting frustrated with your own player is now a technical in the @WBNA. What are we even doing? pic.twitter.com/D6qw1tXvML
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) July 31, 2025
Fans sounded off of the refs:
@WNBA rescind the tech and send the ref to training camp. Garbage officiating. https://t.co/24hQDw4MgJ
— jarjarbinks (@jarjarbink87427) July 31, 2025
@WNBA ?? Such a joke! Embarrassing! The refs are a joke! https://t.co/8KLovSXqYi
— kj (@CocranKathy) July 31, 2025
The WNBA refs suck.
— James Scott (@LongerTables) July 31, 2025
That was absolutely not a technical. https://t.co/GsppvdZEXn
@WNBA your ridiculous!!! https://t.co/6y16ZTNfE9
— Kevin Rokosz (@RokoszKevi38834) July 31, 2025
LMAO who do WNBA refs think they are💀
— Pint🫘 (@himmybutler_iv) July 31, 2025
Always the refs vs fever. Hasn’t changed and the wnba does nothing about it.
— xTheRedShirtx (@ShirtxX) July 31, 2025
The refs had money on Phoenix winning tonight...That tech on Stephanie White was criminal...WNBA legit should do an investigation on the ref who called that tech within .0001 seconds of Steph complaining to her Player and not the ref...Freaking ridiculous.. https://t.co/nTDBHgm9ni
— Winning On An Industrial Scale (@Fredbenz0) July 31, 2025
The Fever improved to 15-12 on the year while the Mercury fell to 16-10.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.