The New York Liberty may have claimed the 2024 WNBA championship, but the real story brewing is the growing outrage over what many are calling a rigged finals. Despite clear signs of questionable officiating, the WNBA’s legacy media is pushing fans to overlook the controversy, framing the Liberty’s victory as well-deserved while ignoring glaring issues that unfolded during the series.

 

Minnesota Lynx beat New York Liberty in WNBA Finals Game 4: Highlights

 

The finals had everything: high-stakes competition, star players, and plenty of drama. But what overshadowed it all were the refereeing decisions that left many fans—and even NBA stars—fuming. From missed calls to phantom fouls, each of these moments contributed to the Liberty’s controversial win. Yet, rather than addressing the legitimate concerns of a rigged game, WNBA media outlets seem determined to protect the league’s image, brushing the controversy aside.

Throughout the season, the Liberty were undoubtedly one of the league’s best teams. They dominated many games, but the finals told a different story. Game 1 was marred by a meltdown from the Liberty themselves, while Game 2 was a convincing win. But by Game 3, fans began noticing suspicious officiating. The Lynx handed Game 3 away, but it was Game 4 that ignited the real firestorm, with an “iffy” foul call against Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu that shifted the momentum in New York’s favor.

That one foul on Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton could have sent the game to overtime, but instead, it ended with many feeling the game had been decided not by the players, but by the referees. Fans across social media cried foul—literally—claiming the game was manipulated to ensure a Liberty victory.

“We watched a rigged game yesterday,” said one analyst. “The calls were just too favorable to New York. And now the league wants us to pretend it didn’t happen?”

Even more baffling is how the WNBA media has responded. Rather than acknowledge the controversy, they’ve downplayed the rigging accusations, focusing instead on the Liberty’s “deserved” win over the course of the season. Articles and commentators praise New York’s overall performance, sidestepping the blatant officiating errors that decided the outcome in the finals.

NBA stars like Damian Lillard and Isaiah Thomas have also weighed in, with Lillard tweeting, “That game was rigged.” Even LeBron James support this idea. Yet, despite high-profile voices adding to the uproar, the WNBA’s old guard media remains silent on the topic, more interested in defending the league than addressing its problems.

 

 

The issue here isn’t whether the Liberty were the best team overall this season. They were. But that doesn’t excuse what happened in the finals. The game could have been over at halftime if not for multiple suspicious calls that kept New York in striking distance. Phantom fouls, off-the-ball contact, and other questionable whistles all contributed to turning what should have been a comfortable Lynx win into a two-point game.

Fans, many of them tuning in for one of the most highly anticipated WNBA finals in history, were left stunned as referees appeared to dictate the pace and tone of the game. Yet the WNBA media insists on ignoring these claims, urging fans to focus on the Liberty’s victory instead.

The result? Frustration and distrust. The WNBA has worked hard to grow its audience, and this year’s finals had record viewership. But instead of capitalizing on that momentum by addressing real concerns, the media’s refusal to acknowledge the officiating controversy could drive new fans away. When people tune in to watch a championship game, they expect fairness, not what many saw as a rigged job.

As the dust settles on the 2024 season, the league and its media partners may want to reconsider their approach. Ignoring the very real issues of officiating and game integrity won’t just harm the credibility of this year’s championship—it could jeopardize the future of the WNBA itself. If fans feel the games are being rigged, they won’t stick around, no matter how much the media tries to convince them otherwise.