WNBA officiating has been under ongoing scrutiny this season from coaching and player complaints.
The brewing frustrations have exploded in the playoffs with nearly every coach taking time in their postgame news conferences to make a point about the physicality of play. Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve took it a step further in a two-minute tirade on Friday, publicly questioning not only the competency of officials but also the leadership of the referees at the league level after her team lost Game 3 of the best-of-five series against Phoenix.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the league’s officiating during All-Star Weekend in July.
“As we go forward on the officiating, we hear the concerns. We take that employee input,” Engelbert said. “Every play is reviewed. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we use that then to follow up with officials’ training.
“Consistency is important. I think some people observe our game versus other basketball formats (and think) there aren’t a ton of fouls called, but I realize consistency is the name of the game.”
Here is a look at the system the league has had in place for the past two decades that aspiring officials must take before they make it to the WNBA, which includes time refereeing in the NBA’s developmental league.
How does someone become an WNBA official?
Every referee’s journey to the WNBA is different, but : They must spend some time in the G League. For the past two decades, all aspiring WNBA officials have had to spend time officiating in the NBA’s developmental league.
The G League is a feeder system for NBA hopefuls, but it gives all officials a chance to referee a professional level of basketball. Refs are not just evaluated on how well they know the rules, but also how well they can work as part of three-person officiating teams.
The NBA oversees a scouting program that tries to identify young referees who work high school, college or other levels. Once identified, the officials are invited to WNBA and NBA developmental programs before being elevated to the G League.
Are officials penalized for wrong calls?
Officials can be fined if they misapply rules, but not for making a wrong call or if a call they made is overturned by a challenge.
If an official makes too many wrong calls, however, they may not either advance in the playoffs or get big-game assignments.
How much are WNBA officials paid?
WNBA officials get paid by the game with a rookie official earning just over $1,500 per contest. A 20-year veteran would make about $2,500 for every game this season. That is less than what women’s officials are paid per game in college. However, the WNBA pays for travel and hotel, unlike colleges.
Many WNBA referees also officiate college games.
Pay in the WNBA is vastly different than it is in the NBA, where referees are salaried employees earning between $150,000 and $550,000 a season.
Who oversees WNBA officials at the league level?
Monty McCutchen is the head of WNBA officiating and Sue Blauch is the head of referee performance and development for the league. McCutchen spent 20 years as an NBA official before taking over as senior vice president of referee development and training in 2017.
Blauch worked in the NCAA for nearly three decades and 20 years in the WNBA. She entered her current role in 2018.
How do rules get changed in the WNBA?
A competition committee made up of coaches, general managers and members of the Board of Governors meet in November to discuss potential rule changes.
Once the committee decides on what rules it would like to change they present it to the Board of Governors to be voted on. It helps to improve chances of a change being implemented if there was a unanimous consensus on the proposal by the competition committee.
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