Cheryl Reeve Meltdown: Women Coaches Showing Emotion
After WNBA Coach Cheryl Reeve's jacket-tossing meltdown made its rounds on the internet, coaches from all over are coming forward and speaking about those types of demonstrations during games.
There have been countless incidents in all professional sports where coaches show more emotion than the average fan is used to seeing in order to inspire their team or show their frustration with referees. But given that most coaching jobs are held by men, when a woman loses her cool, it seems to draw more attention.
This is highlighted with the reactions following Minnesota Lynx's coach Cheryl Reeve's meltdown after an apparent missed call.
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The incident took place on Wednesday during the second game of the WNBA finals. The Minnesota Lynx were playing the Indiana Fever with Minnesota behind at the time.
Minnesota starter Lindsay Whalen went up for a shot, but had the ball knocked out of her hands by a defender. The official called an offensive foul on Whalen, which caused a very vibrant display from Reeve, who was later hit with a technical foul.
Reeve began to berate the official and then- as she was being restrained by her assistant- she took off her jacket and threw it in the direction of another assistant. Several players then came over and tried to control their fiery coach.
Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn was critical of Reeve, and suggested during a press conference that Reeve should have been ejected from the game for her flamboyant display.
"Well, I've been coaching for 42 years now and that's probably the most physical game I've ever been a part of. It was just a war out there, bodies flying everywhere," Dunn said.
Other coaches were more supportive of Reeve's display and were happy to see a coach show emotion on the sidelines.
"I really enjoyed the animation of the coach of the Lynx yesterday," Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics coach, told USA Today. "I love that. I'm assuming we can do that, too, in games," he added.
