Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has been suspended one game due to her "conduct and comments" during and after her team's loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of their playoff series, the WNBA announced Saturday.
Reeve will serve the suspension during Sunday's Game 4 in Phoenix.
The Minnesota coach was ejected in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 3 after berating an official for not calling a foul on a play that left Lynx star Napheesa Collier injured. Reeve had to be restrained as she ran onto the court and earned her second technical of the game, leading to an ejection.
"If this is what the league wants, OK, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating," Reeve said after the Lynx fell behind 2-1 in the series. "The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it's f---ing malpractice."
In a statement, the league outlined several reasons for suspending the coach in what will be a must-win game for her team.
"Her conduct and comments included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection with 21.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, inappropriate comments made to fans exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference," the statement read.
Assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson were also fined.
