Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi has been dealing with some lingering pain following an injury on her back in early August. On Friday, it was the referees who were a real pain in the beck for Taurasi, so much so that they ended up lobbing a playful(?) jab in their direction following a foul call.
Halfway through the third quarter in a game against the Minnesota Lynx, the Mercury trailed by nine when Taurasi was called for a foul during an attempt to steal the ball from Napheesa Collier. Taurasi disagreed with the ref’s assessment of the play and started jarring back and forth, which inevitably led to a technical foul. And then, as the broadcast got quiet, we got this gem from the WNBA star as she walked away.
“I’ll see you in the lobby later.” 💀 pic.twitter.com/wERsx047Gi
— Diana Taurasi’s Bun (@DT3sBun) August 22, 2020
“I’ll see you in the lobby later.”
And she’s probably not kidding. Everyone involved in the WNBA, players, coaches, and officials alike, are all staying inside the bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. And other WNBA players, like Sue Bird, have commented on the strangeness of seeing officials off the court and in casual situations closeby.
Seeing the refs at the pool drinking beers and listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire is like seeing your teacher outside of the classroom at the grocery store…it’s weird lol
— Bird (@EricaMcCall24) August 17, 2020
So whoever that ref was, there’s a decent chance they’re gonna be getting room service for a while instead of venturing out to the bubble grocery store. When Diana Taurasi wants a word, she’s probably going to get it. Godspeed, WNBA official.
Refs in the lobby: pic.twitter.com/f6wejAvOYz
— Diana Taurasi’s Bun (@DT3sBun) August 22, 2020
In the lobby later: pic.twitter.com/EggVNHacLt
— 🏴☠️t h e p i r a t e b a e🏴☠️ (@xemry) August 22, 2020
[Yahoo! Sports, Diana Taurasi’s Bun]