Atlanta Dream Criticize Officiating in Loss to Washington Mystics

The Atlanta Dream faced an unexpected 81-76 defeat against the Washington Mystics on Thursday night. Jordin Canada of the Dream criticized the officiating, stating, “I’m going to get fined, but I don’t care. Tonight, the officiating was awful… I don’t know how many times Angel [Reese] has to get beat up in the paint for her to get a foul called… I thought all 3 refs were terrible.”

Rhyne Howard led the Dream’s scoring with 24 points, while Canada contributed 10 points and seven assists. Angel Reese added 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Dream struggled as both Canada and Reese accumulated five personal fouls each, impacting their performance.

Referees called 23 fouls against the Mystics and 22 against the Dream. The Dream had 18 free throw attempts, while the Mystics attempted 19, suggesting balanced officiating in statistics. However, Canada feels that many fouls on Reese were overlooked.

Every time [Angel] was getting a fastbreak layup, she was getting hacked.

Canada’s comments reflect growing scrutiny of WNBA referees. Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko has also expressed concerns about Reese not receiving enough respect from officials.

Statmuse data shows that the Dream have been called for the 10th most personal fouls in the WNBA this season, with 385 fouls over 20 games. In comparison, the Connecticut Sun leads the league with 465 fouls, followed by the Portland Fire with 463, and the Indiana Fever with 460.

A recent incident involving Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark highlighted referees’ performance issues. Thomas was given a Flagrant Foul 2 and a one-game suspension for an uncalled foul against Clark after a league review.