The players of the WNBA are currently embroiled in extensive and difficult CBA negotiations with the leadership of the league. The CBA negotiations were understandably a major topic of discussion throughout the 2025 season, but that wasn't all players and coaches were speaking about — there were plenty of concerns raised about the reffing in the WNBA, too.
The issues are also linked: on top of increased revenue sharing and higher salaries and better benefits, players are also pushing for better reffing standards. Lexie Hull, who was named one of Glamour's Women of the Year alongside Napheesa Collier, Jonquel Jones, Nyara Sabally, and Satou Sabally, addressed the topic in an expansive interview with the outlet published on October 27.
Hull told the magazine that she didn't quite understand why players were getting fined so heavily for speaking about reffing, especially when it concerns an important aspect of what happens on the court — their safety. "We’re getting fined for saying things," she said. "Are [the referees] getting fined for making the wrong call?"
It seemed that Hull was calling for a reworking of the current path toward becoming a ref in the WNBA, something that is still shrouded in mystery a bit.
Hull, who suffered two black eyes in a game in September, was far from the only player who was injured this season — and many believe that poor calls made by refs were part of the problem. The Indiana Fever saw five players go down with season-ending injuries, and Collier also suffered a tough ligament tear during the Lynx's playoffs run. Minnesota's coach Cheryl Reeve was fined $15,000 for an outburst that resulted in her calling for a "change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating."
The Fever's coach Stephanie White and the Aces' coach Becky Hammon also paid out fines this season for comments they made about refs, and Collier joked to the magazine that the players are "keeping the league afloat here because we keep giving all the money back."
The WNBA has stayed quiet on refs
It's unclear what, if anything, the WNBA's leadership plans to do to solve the reffing issues and concerns raised by athletes and their coaches. In her September 30 exit interview for the Lynx, Collier said in part that WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert once told her, "only the losers complain about the refs" — a comment that can absolutely be interpreted as dismissive and even callous.