The WNBA created an officiating task force this offseason that included players and coaches. Almost from the start, officials have been frequently criticized, mainly for inconsistency, and that criticism has escalated in recent seasons as the league’s talent level has improved.
This season, the primary points of emphasis include freedom of movement, defenses not hindering offensive players on or off the ball, and stricter penalties for flagrant fouls, including automatic suspensions.
But nearly a month into the season, the results have been mixed. Foul counts are up significantly, averaging more than 22 per game compared to 17.5 last season. Games that normally run two hours have at times stretched to nearly three, due to more fouls called, more trips to the foul line and coach-player challenges to review calls.
Minnesota Assistant Coach Janel McCarville, in her first season on the bench, acknowledged the games seem longer.
“I wasn’t here last year,” she said, “but you have fouls come into play, the two or three reviews for a minute and a half each. There’s two or three a game. The games are not drastically slowed down, but there are more opportunities for the game to be stopped.”
The broader concern is whether the league has overcorrected. “What started as an effort to restore control may now be testing the balance between physical basketball and over-officiated basketball,” Rodney Knuppel wrote in The Sporting News last month.
Complaints haven’t subsided. After teammate Rickea Jackson suffered a season-ending injury in a game at Minnesota last month, Chicago’s Natasha Cloud blasted the officials during her postgame comments.
“On top of the points of emphasis that were emphasized at the beginning of the season, the officials’ ultimate job is to control and protect the players in this game,” Cloud said. “And I think that this group today failed to do so.”
“I think the points of emphasis are great, but I also think it’s a little [expletive],” added Cloud, a 10-year veteran. “I’ll be damned if we keep getting players hurt in this league, on any team, because we refuse to control the game.”
Lynx center Teaira McCowan, in her eighth WNBA season and first with Minnesota, said she hasn’t noticed any difference in how officials work games.
“I feel like it’s just the same,” said the 6-foot-7 center. “It’s just like nitpicking… you call it my way one time, then you call it against me the next time, and it’s the same exact play. It’s always unfair to bigs, and I feel like nobody ever really notices that. Personally, it’s difficult for me because I feel like they always call against me.”
New CBA adds developmental player spots
The new WNBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA) added two developmental player spots to each roster.
Each team, if it chooses, can carry up to two developmental players. Players must have three or fewer years in the league, though those with four or five years can qualify if they played limited minutes the previous season. Developmental players receive a $750 weekly stipend and, if activated for a game, can earn a prorated game bonus of roughly $6,000.
“It’s an opportunity for a young player on the cusp to ease their transition into the league,” Jordan Robinson said in her WNBA30 feature in The Guardian. “The developmental spots are mutually beneficial. Coaches won’t need to pull in a random, outside player to quickly learn the plays.”
Chicago guard Rachel Banham, a Minnesota native, said the developmental spots may be among the least-talked-about features of the seven-year CBA.
“There’s just so much more opportunity for the younger players to get an opportunity,” Banham said.
Washington’s Darianna Littlepage-Buggs became the first developmental player signed in WNBA history. Minnesota has since signed forward Liatu King and guard Eliska Hamzova to its two developmental spots.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
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