New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco did not hold back in his criticism of the officiating following his team's 93-91 loss to the Toronto Tempo on Sunday. The chaotic finish to the game, part of the WNBA's inaugural Canadian showcase, included a shoe-throwing incident, a player ejection, and several calls that DeMarco deemed highly questionable.
Liberty guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected with 1:48 left in regulation after she accidentally hit a Tempo player with a shoe she was attempting to return to a teammate. Laney-Hamilton stated she did not intend to hit anyone and that the situation looked worse than it was. However, the ejection resulted in a technical foul free throw for Toronto, which the Tempo converted to take a two-point lead.
DeMarco described the sequence as "atrocious" and "pathetic," emphasizing that it disrupted the Liberty's momentum, which had seen them overcome a 15-point deficit. "I've never seen anything like it," DeMarco said. "We had all the momentum in the world. Shoe hit somebody, ejected, free throws... I've never seen one of the best players to ever play in this league attack the rim and get fouled and absolutely no call, and we're just gonna play. Atrocious. Pathetic. It was pathetic."
The officiating controversy continued when, with the game tied late, a ball that appeared to be deflected out of bounds by a Toronto player was instead awarded to the Tempo. DeMarco expressed disbelief that the crew chief overturned an initial call made by an official on the opposite side of the floor.
"I've also never seen a ref make such an atrocious call when he's on the other side of the floor," DeMarco stated. "The ball is clearly off the defender and comes over and overturns and gives the ball back to Tempo again."
Toronto ultimately secured the win with a layup in the closing seconds. DeMarco's frustration with officiating is not new; he received a technical foul the previous day in Minnesota for arguing a call.
DeMarco also voiced concerns about his players, particularly Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart, not receiving foul calls when driving to the basket. He contrasted his players' style with others in the league who he believes exaggerate contact to draw fouls, asserting that the Liberty's approach should be rewarded.
"I haven't seen anybody get fouled as much as JJ in this league," he said. "I mean, she gets a rebound, clubbed all the time. Like again, Stewie gets to the rim — and I love my players. I love the game of basketball, I love the way we play. You're not gonna see Stew stare down the refs, sit there and b**** about calls. You're not going to see Sab over and over again... If they get fouled, they're not going to fall every single time so they get a call. They're playing the game the right way and they should be rewarded when they're fouled, all right? Because I've seen a ton of basketball and there are players who are constantly hitting the ground. They don't do that. They play the game the right way. It doesn't mean they shouldn't get rewarded, though."
Despite the contentious ending, the Liberty managed to mount significant comebacks in both their recent games against the Tempo, showing resilience even when facing perceived officiating disadvantages.