WNBA refs face 'rigged' accusations after Caitlin Clark and Lexie Hull incidents

13:47 ET, 02 Oct 2026Updated 13:51 ET, 02 Oct 2026

The WNBA’s officiating has once again come under fire after Fever fans claimed Game 3 of Indiana’s first-round series against the Las Vegas Aces was “rigged.”

On Thursday, the Fever suffered an unceremonious exit from the playoffs upon falling to the Aces, 94-83, at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The back-and-forth contest featured no shortage of questionable calls from officials, prompting a telling response from Caitlin Clark.

With just under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, Aces’ Bri Turner hooked Lexie Hull’s arm and dragged her to the ground as the pair battled for position in the paint. Yet the Fever guard was ultimately called for the foul, while head coach Stephanie White was subsequently issued a tech for disputing the decision.

Then, in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, Clark received an elbow to the face from Jewell Loyd as the Aces guard attempted to corral an offensive rebound.

Clark attempted to plead her case for a foul call — even showing an official her bloody gum — yet the referees ultimately chose not to review the play for a potential flagrant foul.

As the Fever trailed by just four points with 47 seconds remaining in regulation, A'ja Wilson tripped over her own feet while attempting to cross half-court. Despite not making contact with the four-time MVP, Aliyah Boston was called for a foul, awarding the Aces two free throws.

Taking to social media, droves of disgruntled viewers slammed the referees for repeatedly favoring the Aces.

“The most disgusting rigged game of all time. No one will ever respect AJ and Aces after this win,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “The WNBA is a joke. Might as well hire the blind for Referees. The protected players and teams in the league get no calls.”

A third chimed in, “Since WNBA season ended, what is everyone planning to watch now? Don’t care about playoffs. It’s all decided and rigged. Fouls are crazy. Last night, refs just pushed me away from WNBA to be honest.”

Speaking to reporters during a postgame press conference, White acknowledged the discrepancy in calls between both teams. "The Aces had 35 free throws, we had 20," she said.

Clark did little to hide her frustration, sarcastically stating: "Hm, interesting."

This is hardly the first time that Clark called out the league’s officiating during the playoffs. On Tuesday, as the 24-year-old received a technical foul in the second quarter after disputing an offensive foul call she was given while driving toward the basket against Aces guard Mai Yamamoto.

Clark continued to criticize the referees during an ensuing press conference, arguing: "I thought the refs really struggled tonight.

"Like, it's just it's so inconsistent and you call an offensive foul on me and then I'm getting hit the same way on the defensive end and it's a foul on me.

"It doesn't make sense. Like they just have to be better. It's the playoffs. Like either call it all the time or don't. But be consistent. It is what it is."