The Aces became WNBA champions Friday after they completed a 4-0 sweep of the Mercury during the league's first best-of-seven Finals series.
As Phoenix tried to make a second-half comeback to save its season, coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected late in the third quarter. Tibbetts received a double technical foul for arguing a foul call and getting in official Gina Cross's face.
Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected from WNBA Finals Game 4 after this interaction with the ref. pic.twitter.com/5h1ZSeDUJr
— ESPN (@espn) October 11, 2025
Despite winning the second half, the Mercury weren't able to storm back and beat the Aces, who won their third championship in the past four years with a 97-86 win at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Friday night. Tibbetts wasn't on the sideline with his team as their season came to a close, and he had plenty to say about it after the game.
"To me, it's embarrassing," he said to reporters postgame via Desert Wave Media. "I feel bad that I was tossed. I mean, I've been around this game a long time and I think it's one of the weakest double technicals ever. I didn't even know that I got the second one to be completely honest. I just don't understand and I feel bad for our team, our fans."
Officiating has been a major talking point over the WNBA's postseason, but Tibbetts and the Mercury haven't been outspoken against referees until their final game of the year. Crew chief Roy Gulbeyan said Tibbetts received his first technical for coming onto the floor and yelling an expletive at an official, then a second tech for stepping in closer aggressively toward the calling official and yelling, "That's f---ing terrible," once again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mercury Coach Sounds Off on Ejection: 'One of the Weakest Double Technicals Ever'.
