Cheryl Reeve suspended: Lynx coach will miss Game 4 of WNBA semifinals vs. Mercury after ejection, comments

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has been suspended one game and fined for her conduct and comments following her team's 76-84 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals on Friday, the league announced. Reeve was ejected in the last 22 seconds of regulation after confronting officials when Napheesa Collier suffered an injury, and then proceeded to call for a change in league leadership during her brief postgame media appearance without answering any questions.

"We talked about how dangerous it can be.... It's bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoffs worthy is f—g malpractice," Reeve said.

As she was being escorted off the court following her ejection, Reeve shouted profanities at Mercury fans near the team tunnel.

The news comes as the Lynx find themselves down 1-2 in a best-of-five series. Minnesota will have to stay in Phoenix for Game 4 on Sunday -- when Reeve will serve her suspension -- as that game tips at 8 p.m. ET from PHX Arena.

Reeve's 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, inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference," according to a league statement on Saturday.

Two Lynx assistant coaches, Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson, were also fined for inappropriate behavior toward officials and social media posts.

This is not the first time Reeve has publicly complained about officiating in the playoffs. Last year, the Lynx lost Game 5 of the Finals against the New York Liberty in overtime, and Reeve said it was stolen from her team because of bad calls. However, those comments did not lead to a fine.

The semifinals series between the Lynx and Mercury has been particularly intense and tensions were definitely high on Friday. Reeve got her first technical halfway through the second quarter after complaining to officials that Collier had been fouled by Alyssa Thomas during a possession that ended in a shot-clock violation against Minnesota.

Reeve's ejection happened when Minnesota was trying to come back from a four-point deficit with 30 seconds remaining. Thomas stole the ball from Collier, and in the process, their legs bumped and Collier landed awkwardly on her left foot. Despite Collier getting hurt, the incident was a no-call as Thomas' tip appeared clean. When Reeve saw Collier was not getting up, she went up to a referee and had to be pulled away by Natisha Hiedeman and members of her coaching staff.

There is still no update on Collier's status, but as the team leader, her absence would significantly impact the Lynx as they face an elimination game.