The 2024 WNBA season shattered league information for attendance and viewership. It culminated with an instantaneous traditional WNBA Finals collection between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx that produced 5 wonderful video games of high-level basketball.
The Liberty took dwelling an additional time win within the decisive Recreation 5 on Sunday night time to assert their first championship in franchise historical past. The Liberty have been the very best crew all season, which ought to make them really feel like a becoming champion. There’s solely drawback: the ultimate recreation had so many controversial calls go New York’s method in crunch-time that nobody felt glad with the ending.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve (who additionally coached Group USA to a gold medal on the 2024 Paris Olympics) completely obliterated the refs after the sport, saying the sport was “stolen” from her crew by the officers. There have been a number of unquestionable calls down the stretch, beginning with a late foul name on Minnesota towards Breanna Stewart that allowed New York to tie the sport (the foul was mushy and it additionally seemed like Stewart traveled). There have been a number of situations of Lynx famous person Napheesa Collier getting hit with no foul being referred to as. The refs additionally selected to not name a transparent path foul on the Liberty in additional time after a assessment. The Liberty ended the sport with a 25-8 free throw benefit.
It’s lame to complain in regards to the refs after such a traditional collection. Minnesota led by 12 factors earlier within the recreation, and shouldn’t have wanted a dramatic end to beat the Liberty. On the identical time, the top of that recreation and this season simply didn’t really feel proper. That sentiment went into overdrive when WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert got here out to current the championship trophy to the Liberty.
Engelbert confirmed as much as the sport carrying a costume with the New York Metropolis skyline on it. That’s a horrible search for somebody who is meant to be goal heading right into a decisive Recreation 5. The WNBA even deleted a tweet displaying Engelbert’s costume that everybody was criticizing within the quotes. Right here’s a take a look at the commish’s costume:
And right here’s a few of the criticism, solely including to the concept that the league wished New York to win the championship:
Typically instances the entire “the league desires Market X to win” is only a paranoid take from followers. However for the commissioner of the league to actually put on the NY skyline on her costume at Recreation 5, that is not a fantastic look. https://t.co/AjgXQ5QsQW
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 21, 2024
why did cathy engelbert put on that costume
— Claire Watkins (@ScoutRipley) October 21, 2024
Think about Roger Goodell confirmed as much as a Vikings vs Jets Tremendous Bowl with one thing like an NYPD hat on.. soccer followers throughout America would go nuts!
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert needs to be embarrassed! Individuals can be calling for Roger to resign and apologize for the bias. pic.twitter.com/ov76XRx3Ce
— Shea Butter (@ButtaSports) October 21, 2024
WNBA participant Sydney Colson of the Las Vegas Aces even discovered the costume and tried it on because the controversy was brewing Monday.
The WNBAPA opted out of the CBA on Monday afternoon following the top of the season. Solidarity with the gamers.
That is doubtless going to be a messy labor affair. Curiosity in girls’s basketball is thru the roof. Two years in the past, below 400K folks watched the WNBA Finals. This 12 months, that quantity was at 1.7 million. It’s solely going to maintain going up as a result of the product is improbable. The league nonetheless feels prefer it’s run like a minor league in some ways, with a lot low-hanging fruit to wash up on the enterprise and advertising and marketing facet. Engelbert doesn’t really feel match to steer the league into the long run if she’s going to make a mistake as foolish as carrying that New York costume.
The WNBA is in a fantastic place, and nonetheless has a lot room to develop. Did the league actually rig the championship finale for New York? We’ll by no means know, however everybody already has their thoughts made up.