In Angel Reese’s Rose BC’s game against the Laces, Coco Gauff was the Guest of honor. Looks like she was keen to see Angel Reese in action. Well, Angel Reese did make history, but for all the negative reasons. The ‘Bayou Barbie’ endured a frustrating start after failing to score in the first quarter while going 0 for 2 from the field. Reese had begun finding her flow in the second when she erupted for six points and 11 rebounds before her night was cut short. What happened?

Reese was called for a reach-in foul on Tiffany Hayes toward the end of the second quarter while the Laces BC player tried to drive to the hoop. Hayes fell to the ground after her opponent swiped for the ball, but Reese thought the foul call was inappropriate and waved her hand in the air several times in dismay.

One referee believed the call was directed at him rather than Hayes and handed Reese with a technical foul. That only further infuriated the 22-year-old and she began arguing with referees. She pointed towards Hayes at one point, apparently in an attempt to make the refs understand that she was trying to communicate her displeasure with her, and not the referees. Reese continued arguing as Hayes stood at the free throw line and she was given a second technical foul.

Two technical fouls in quick succession eventually led her to be ejected from the game. “Angel Reese was just tossed,” analyst Sarah Kustok said in disbelief shocked that an ejection actually was given. The camera focused on a frustrated Reese standing on the sideline before she waved her hand again and walked to the locker room. With that Reese etched her name in Unrivaled’s history as she became the first player to be ejected from the game. The social media is abuzz with the incident and Rachel Annamarie DeMita also thought that referees might be why reason Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart’s brainchild can lose its popularity among the viewers.

“There’s also the physicality of this league. It has actually been a little bit crazy how much the refs are letting these players get away with. That is a recipe for players to get injured and that’s not great!” she noted in the latest Courtside Club episode.

Of course, anyone who has been with Unrivaled since the beginning will agree with DeMita on this: “I watched that first weekend of play I thought, firstly these women are gonna be in great shape by the end of this. It’s such a fast-paced game. But with that, if you actually think about it, that’s a very different game with 5v5 and it does leave you susceptible to injuries.”

A very good example of this was when the league was forced to trim down its 1v1 tournament after a brutal wave of injuries sidelined seven players, including stars like Natasha Cloud, Alyssa Thomas, Tiffany Hayes, Marina Mabrey, Kate Martin, Brittney Sykes, and Kayla McBride. The league was forced to scrap the matchup between Laces BC and Vinyl BC after Laces found themselves severely short-handed, missing key stars Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young, and Tiffany Hayes.

DeMita reminded, “The WNBA is not going to let their players risk getting injured in other leagues, especially in a 3v3 style League like this one where there is more room for injury. The WNBA is not going to allow that and these women do have to take care of their bodies.” She also indicated how players have started calling out the league on their social media. Take Angel Reese as an instance.

Responding to a fan on X who couldn’t believe that Reese was thrown out, Reese said she “can’t wait to get back to Chicago.” She also reposted a video of her on camera after the ejection with the caption “free me.” The final post in a series of comments about her ejection ended with her saying, “Let me get off here before Jeanine [her marketing rep] come deactivate my account.”

With officials failing to protect players just as Rachel pointed out, Unrivaled is now at serious risk of not returning for another season. If injuries keep piling up, the WNBA could step in and not let these players participate. But that’s not even the biggest controversy brewing. Referee mistakes have triggered something far bigger, something that has shaken the entire basketball community. Let’s dive into it!

Rhyne Howard accuses Collier and Unrivaled of rigging!

On the second day of the 1v1, Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard was knocked out by Courtney Williams 11-9, despite Howard being the higher seed. Throughout the whole game, the refs made some questionable decisions which prompted Howard to open X and retweet certain tweets that implied that the league was rigged!

One of the tweets Howard retweeted read, “When they all play each other and it’s nothing but fOWLs 🥁,” a not-so-subtle jab implying that Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams’ teammate at Lunar Owls and Minnesota Lynx was involved in rigging the game!

Now, imagine being the face of a brand-new league and getting accused of rigging your own tournament by a part owner. Yeah, not a great look! Whether it was just frustration from Howard or a genuine concern about the refs, this controversy is the last thing Collier and Unrivaled needed as they try to establish credibility in their inaugural season.

What do you make of the whole situation? Will Unrivaled fizzle out? Or can it weather the storm? Let us know in the comments.