Questionable calls lead to growing criticism of referees
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has recently experienced a surge in popularity over the past couple years, following polarizing new stars like Caitlin Clark entering the league. During the current 2025 season, the WNBA has made sports headlines across the nation. Not because of the athletes, but stemming from intense criticism of the referees.
Referees have consistently been at the forefront of complaints by fans of every sport for years. Whether it be with perceived favoritism of certain teams in the National Football League (NFL), or umpires missing what looks like easy calls in Major League Baseball (MLB). These leagues are meant to be the highest level of competition and fans have always held them to that standard. Referees are no different in how they are treated from players, often under a microscope for each of their mistakes.
The abandonment of the mentality across the league that officials needed to be protected from media criticism has set the current WNBA referee scandal aside from ones of the past. Players and coaches alike have begun to confront the issue directly with referees during games along with the press.
Angel Reese, Chicago Sky forward, following a 75-80 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 6, vented her frustrations in her postgame interview.
“It's tough when you talk to officials and I asked them, 'Hey, we've only been to the free throw line twice up until the fourth quarter,' and she tells me it's not her job,” Reese said, finally ending by stating “[the officiating] has to be fixed.”
Another incident arose later this season during the WNBA semifinals when the Minnesota Lynx coach, Cheryl Reeve, ripped into the referees after a no-call on a Phoenix Mercury forward that left a Lynx player writhing in pain.
After the game Reeve addressed her outburst during the game and her view on the officiating.
“It’s bad for the game. The officiating crew we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three [referees] semifinal playoff worthy, is f**king malpractice,” Reeve said.
The WNBA, following these comments, suspended Reeve for one game and hit her with a $15,000 fine.
Rules have been a part of sports since their inception and there’s the need for them to be enforced fairly and without bias. Referees are meant to be the solution to this, but they come with their own set of issues, as rules have grown more complex and technical. Finding qualified referees can be a challenge, an issue exacerbated at the high school level.
Zephyr Fehmers (’26), a right wing on the varsity Samo boys’ water polo team, explained how the referee shortage impacts the ability for fair refs to be present at games.
“It's just hard, we played one game where it was literally like the other team, the ref was his uncle, one of the players. So it's just cause it's such a small sport. There's so many connections,” Fehmers said. “We have a ref that refs our games that went to Samohi. So it's kind of hard sometimes to make sure it's completely fair.”
Nobody wants an entire game to ride on a single call and sometimes calling a game loose allows for referees to be smaller factors in a game. This type of officiating can also have the opposite effect, being detrimental to the integrity of the game.
Even though rules have changed and become more nuanced, referees are often afraid to admit they are wrong and it leads to wrong calls rarely being overturned, even with the evidence to prove it.
Fehmers shared a story of how referee interference cost them a shot at the CIF finals in the 2024 season.
“I shot the ball [at the] last second,” Fehmers said. “It was a buzzer-beater shot. It would have been the best thing ever. But the ref, instead of just letting it go, which it was a so-so call [since] our guy was barely in the zone, but he [called it a no goal]. That lost us the game, because we would have tied it up, but he said it's a turnover. Even after the shot went in.”
Referees at all levels are critical to the success of any sport, their scarcity — coupled with the unique ability to change entire games based on their calls — places them almost in a position above the law in sports leagues. This is inherently damaging to sports, as the lack of accountability means referees are encouraged through complacency to continue with their practices and it can ruin the experiences for many, turning away potential and current players.