NEW YORK — Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is a direct communicator, a person who rarely leaves any topic lingering in a gray area.
Sunday night was no exception. During the press conference that followed a Game 5 overtime loss to the New York that allowed the Liberty to claim its first WNBA Championship after four previous finals losses, Reeve lit up the officiating crew she insisted cost the Lynx a fifth championship.
"All the headlines will be 'Reeve cries foul.' Bring it on, right?" the coach said. "Bring it on, because this sh** was stolen from us."
Reeve was referring in particular to a foul called on forward Alanna Smith as Liberty star Breanna Stewart went to the hoop. The Lynx challenged the call, and replays suggested that Smith got all ball in turning Stewart away.
But after reviewing the play, the officiating upheld the foul call and Stewart hit a pair of free throws that tied the game and sent it into overtime.
Others who watched the play asserted that Stewart traveled not once - but twice - in taking the ball to the hole. Nothing was called.
The Liberty would hit a quick three after the overtime tip-off, Minnesota went cold on the offensive end and New York claimed the league crown by a margin of 67-62.
"We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn't have to overcome to that extent... this sh** ain't that hard. Officiating is not that hard. When someone is being held, be consistent," Reeve told reporters at the postgame presser, referring to what she said was Liberty players grabbing her star Napheesa Collier on the offensive end throughout the second half. "If you didn't want to call a hold at one end, don't call it at the other. Be consistent, every team asks for that. "
Veteran sports reporters and columnists who were in attendance for the news conference say Reeve's commentary was just the latest evidence of a major issue that is plaguing the WNBA, but they were were still shocked by her blistering criticism.
"It was really stunning," said Jim Souhan, long-time sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. "I mean, you cover so many sporting events in your course of a lifetime and you're so used to people avoiding saying all the things Cheryl said. "Cheryl just put it all out there. I've never seen anything quite like that."
In his column about the Reeve's postgame comments, Souhan asks the question, 'What should we think about Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s postgame rant?'
"I tend to not write about or talk about officiating because it's the easy out, but it's hard to say she didn't have a case." Souhand said. "I'm a little on the fence with this because everything you saw last night is what I love about Cheryl. She's not afraid to say what she thinks she will take anybody on. She's brave. She's, you know, she's fascinating."
Michael Rosenberg, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated put it simply with his own headline, 'The Lynx May Be Salty, but They’re Right About Terrible WNBA Finals Officiating'.
"I've been to Super Bowls, World Series, but to have a coach go off like that and say it was stolen from us. I don't remember ever seeing that," said Michael Rosenberg, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated. "There's that fine line between taking the high road and honesty and obviously she went with honesty. I'm sure that the league is not happy but this has been building up for a while and it wasn't about one call at the end of the game. It wasn't even about one game. I mean, this is just a problem in the league."
Coach Reeve wasn't the only one offended by the performance of the officials. Social media lit up with posts by everyone from hoop stars LeBron James, Damian Lillard and Candace Parker to NBA columnists like The Athletic's Tony Jones lamenting the foul call and Stewart's traveling violation.
Lillard's tweet referred to the officials carrying out "the assignment" in the second half, advancing a narrative forwarded by some that the WNBA was invested in making sure its top market team won a title after four previous attempts came up short.
Reeve noted subpar play by her point guards in Game 5 and the Lynx's lack of execution on the offensive end, but maintained that physical and aggressive play of New York throughout the series - particularly by big stars Jonquel Jones, Kayla Thornton and Nyara Sabally - led to officials letting the Liberty "get away with stuff" that her club did not.
"I just think you have a star player like Phee (Collier), I don't get it, I don't get how she can be held, go to the basket and get hit, and then a marginal - at best - sends their best player to the free throw line. That's tough to swallow," Reeve said.
Fouls called by the officiating crew put the Liberty on the free throw line 25 times, while the Lynx went a mere 7 for 8. Minnesota was called for 21 fouls to New York's 17 with Collier, the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year, fouling out in overtime.
Reeve talked about her love for this year's club, their lack of selfishness and buy-in to the underdog team concept. But the unlikely run to the WNBA finals - no matter how sweet the journey - came to a jarring and decidedly bitter end Sunday night.
"This sucks. This is for a championship, right? For both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams," coach Reeve concluded. "We were that close to our fifth [championship] and it didn't happen. It's disappointing, it's incredibly disappointing. But these guys have to pick themselves up and go, 'We were that damn close.'"
"It hurts."