Chicago Sky coach James Wade sounded off on the officiating after the Sky dropped Game 2 of the WNBA Finals to the Phoenix Mercury, 91-86 in overtime.

When asked about the Mercury’s ability to slow down Kahleah Copper, who led all scorers with 21 points in the Sky’s Game 1 win, Wade pointed to the team’s lack of free throws despite their production in the paint Wednesday night.

“I mean, when you shoot four free throws in 45 minutes and you have 50 points in the paint, yeah, you can call it slow down,” he said. “I just think they played more physical, and I think they were allowed to. We shot four free throws. Four free throws. Call it what you will, I’ve never seen that ratio in a league game before. You score that many points in the paint, that means you’re attacking the basket, and you shoot four free throws.”

When asked whether the referees turned it into a “let-them-play” type of game, Wade said he had “never heard” of such a thing.

“I think when you attack the rim and you get fouled, it should be called,” he continued. “That’s it. I don’t understand what ‘let them play’ means. I’ve never heard that in a game. If they’re going to the free-throw line, we should.”

Wade isn’t the first coach to criticize the officiating during this year’s WNBA playoffs. New York Liberty coach Walt Hopkins said after the Liberty’s first-round loss to the Mercury that his team had gotten “the short end of the stick” during that game and all season.

“There were multiple plays where we didn’t just get calls, a free throw discrepancy … it was 18-7 tonight,” Hopkins said then. “If anyone wants to say it’s because we shoot a lot of 3s, well we outscored them in the paint 34-30. It’s not because we don’t go to the rim.”

OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe called the NWSL Championship match being moved to Louisville a “win” in terms of an improved kickoff time.

Still, the forward thinks the game time could be a bit later.

“Noon is still pretty early,” she said following her team’s game against Portland. “I’ll have to adjust my schedule.”

Many players are counting the match’s move to Louisville as a win after the original game was scheduled to be played in Portland at 9 a.m. local time (PT). Both players and coaches were unhappy with the logistics, calling on the league to change the kickoff time.

While the kickoff time remains the same, players will now be competing at noon local time (ET) versus first thing in the morning.

Currently, the OL Reign sit firmly at second in the NWSL standings with 39 points — just one point behind the Portland Thorns. The two teams played to a draw in Wednesday night’s match.

Soccer legend Abby Wambach is taking ownership for failing “to speak out publicly or defy the status quo” when she was a player.

“Over the years, I played on more than one team owned or coached by men who I witnessed be emotionally and verbally abusive and dehumanizing,” she wrote in a Twitter post. “I am so deeply sorry to all the players who have been hurt inside the sport we all love.”

Multiple players have come forward in recent weeks and months, detailing allegations of abuse by coaches within the NWSL.

Most recently, Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim came forward to detail allegations of abuse by former North Carolina Courage Coach Paul Riley.

“I wish that, during my playing days, I’d had the courage of Sinead, Kaiya and Mana — to speak out publicly and demand change,” she said. “I stand with them now, and along with them I call for the transparency, accountability, and justice that our sport has long needed.”

In the past, Wambach has been criticized for supporting former magicJack owner Dan Borislow, who was accused of mistreating his players. Wambach both played and coached for Borislow.

After the Women’s Professional Soccer league (the NWSL’s predecessor) voted to terminate the magicJack franchise over its owner’s behavior, the subsequent legal battle led the WPS to first cancel the 2012 season before ultimately folding later that year. The NWSL was founded in 2013 as its replacement.

Portland Thorns head coach Mark Parsons shared Wednesday night just how much he knew about Paul Riley’s firing in 2015.

“I was made aware that an incident, an investigation had happened that the coach was let go because of that he would never be hired by this club again,” Parsons said. “It was an area where I wasn’t allowed and wasn’t able to know more.”

Parsons was hired in 2016, after Riley had left the club. Parsons is set to depart the Portland Thorns at the end of the season to take over the Netherlands’ Women’s National Team.

The Thorns have been at the center of the NWSL’s latest controversy after allegations of abuse by Riley were detailed in The Athletic last week.

Thorns owner Merritt Paulson released a statement on Monday saying the club severed ties with Riley in 2015 after conducting an internal investigation into his conduct. However, in 2015, no such investigation was made public, and the club only said they weren’t renewing Riley’s contract, implying it was due to poor on-field results.

Paulson has since said the Thorns terminated Riley, rather than not renew his contract, and has apologized for the team’s role in the scandal.

On Wednesday, the team placed General Manager Gavin Wilkinson on administrative leave following calls for his removal from supporters groups and players.

In response to the allegations, the NWSL, US Soccer and FIFA have each opened investigations into the league, while league commissioner Lisa Baird resigned last Friday.

The league resumed play on Wednesday, with the Thorns losing to the Houston Dash 3-2.

The North Carolina Courage knew about the Portland Thorns’ investigation into Paul Riley when they hired him, owner Steve Malik said in a letter released Wednesday.

Last Thursday, the Courage fired Riley after The Athletic released a bombshell report detailing allegations of emotional abuse and sexual coercion.

“Following this past week’s appalling revelations, we as a club have taken the past few days to focus internally on supporting our players and staff as we move forward as a unified group,” Malik wrote. “As we continue to process difficult emotions, let me begin by saying that I am deeply sorry for our part in the failure to create an environment where players feel safe and comfortable coming forward.”

According to Malik, the club immediately fired Riley upon learning of the allegations.

“There is no place for that behavior and abuse in our sport and society,” he continued.

Over the past week, players and staff have been provided mental health resources, including a trauma psychologist.

The letter states that ownership did “due diligence” when they acquired the Western New York Flash in 2017 and brought the club to North Carolina. Riley had been fired by the Thorns in 2015 and was hired by the Flash in 2016.

At the time, the Thorns said they chose not to renew Riley’s contract. Over the past week, however, the club has admitted that it terminated Riley due to an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct toward former player Mana Shim.

“We were made aware of an investigation into Mr. Riley’s behavior in 2015 and were subsequently assured that he was in good standing,” Malik said in his letter. “During his employment with the Courage, we had no knowledge of allegations of sexual harassment or coercion.”

The NWSL has been rocked over the past week in the wake of The Athletic’s reporting. The NWSL, FIFA and US Soccer have all opened up investigations into the league while commissioner Lisa Baird resigned last Friday.

Games are set to resume Wednesday, with the Courage taking on Racing Louisville at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Atlanta Dream guard Courtney Williams has apologized for her role in an incident captured on camera that appears to show Dream players fighting outside of a food truck.

“I want to sincerely apologize for the video posted yesterday,” Williams wrote on Twitter on Monday, the day after the video began to circulate on social media. “I would never want to represent myself or the organization in a negative way. I’m learning everyday so I ask for grace as I’m growing. Again I apologize to all attached, and I will be better moving forward.”

In the video, which lasts almost two minutes, Williams can be seen throwing punches alongside teammates Crystal Bradford and Kalani Brown.

According to Insider, the skirmish took place outside of a day club in the early days of the season and the team handled the situation internally. The altercation reportedly began when someone made a comment about Williams’ girlfriend, prompting the guard to respond with her teammates serving as backup.

Team leadership was aware of the situation before the video surfaced, Inside reported. Williams, who made her first All-Star Game as Atlanta’s only representative, led the team with 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and four assists per game while starting each of their 32 regular season games.

“The behavior in the video is unacceptable and does not align with our values as an organization,” the Dream said in a statement to Insider. “We are taking this matter very seriously and working with the league to gather more information and determine next steps.”

OL Reign and USWNT star Megan Rapinoe wants to see the NWSL “burn” following allegations of sexual coercion and emotional abuse by former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley.

The USWNT star called out NWSL owners and countless others who stayed quiet about the allegations, which allowed Riley to continue coaching in the NWSL despite the Portland Thorns having investigated him for inappropriate behavior.

“Men, protecting men, who are abusing women,” Rapinoe wrote. “Burn it all down. Let their heads roll.”

She later reiterated the statement while quoting a tweet showcasing the statement given by Thorns GM Gavin Wilkinson following Riley’s resignation in 2015.

At the time, it was believed that Riley’s contract had not been renewed by the Thorns simply because of underwhelming results. This week, the Thorns admitted that an investigation into inappropriate behavior between Riley and players informed their decision not to resign the coach. Six months later, he was named coach of the Western New York Flash, who later became the North Carolina Courage.

Felow USWNT star Alex Morgan has called out the NWSL for saying they were unaware of the extent of the allegations. Rapinoe then quoted Morgan’s tweet, calling the NWSL’s statement Thursday “beyond disrespectful.”

“Not once during this whole time was the right person protected,” Rapinoe wrote. “Not Mana, not Sinead, not us not the players not the little girls who will become us not the big girls who already are not any of US.”

The NWSL has opted not to play any games this weekend as they continue to work through the recent allegations.

Fellow USWNT stars Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams, who were coached by Riley on the North Carolina Courage, have also spoken out about the allegations.

“I support Sinead and Mana,” Mewis wrote. “I am horrified to read the details of what happened to them. The league needs to do whatever is necessary to make them (and other victims, like Kaiya) feel heard, believed, and protected.”

“I fully support Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly, and I admire the bravery it took for them to come forward,” said Williams. “I am sickened by the details outlined in the article, and saddened to know there may be others.”

Countless other NWSL players have also spoken out, while NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird has said she takes “full responsibility” for what has been a tumultuous season for the league.

NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement on Friday that she takes “full responsibility” for the role she has played in the league’s tumultuous season.

“This week, and much of this season, has been incredibly traumatic for our players and staff, and I take full responsibility for the role I have played,” NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said in the statement. “I am so sorry for the pain so many are feeling.”

Baird has been the subject of scrutiny in the past 24 hours after allegations of sexual coercion and emotional abuse surfaced against former-North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley. In a statement yesterday, Baird said she was “shocked and disgusted” by the allegations.

However, USWNT star Alex Morgan posted screenshots of emails between Baird and one of the victims, Sinead Farrelly, showing that Baird had known about at least some of the allegations earlier this year.

“The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations,” Morgan Tweeted. “The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse.”

In response to Farrelly’s initial email, Baird said that the initial complaint was “investigated to conclusion” before wishing Farrelly “the best.”

The NWSL announced on Friday that it will not be playing the weekend’s games.

Following Thursday’s league wide reckoning over the allegations of sexual coercion and emotional abuse against former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley, the NWSL will not play any games this weekend, commissioner Lisa Baird announced.

It is unclear whether or not the games have been canceled or postponed with intention to reschedule.

“This week, and much of this season, has been incredibly traumatic for our players and staff, and I take full responsibility for the role I have played,” NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said in the statement. “I am so sorry for the pain so many are feeling. Recognizing that trauma, we have decided not to take the field this weekend to give everyone some space to reflect.

“Business as usual isn’t our concern right now. Our entire league has a great deal of healing to do, and our players deserve so much better. We have made this decision in collaboration with our players association and this pause will be the first step as we collectively work to transform the culture of this league, something that is long overdue.”

The Orlando Pride, who were originally slated to play the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday, reportedly went to the airport but did not board their flight. Now, the team is not traveling to Chicago.

Alex Morgan has brought the receipts, detailing how much NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird knew in regards to allegations brought against former North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley.

Riley has been accused of sexually coercing and emotionally abusing multiple players. He was fired by the North Carolina Courage on Thursday.

“The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations,” Morgan wrote. “The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse.”

Morgan’s response comes following the NWSL and commissioner Lisa Baird’s response to the allegations, in which Baird said she was “shocked and disgusted” to learn of the new allegations against Riley.

However in two emails written between Sinead Farrelly and Baird in April, it appears Baird was made known of at least some of the allegations.

“I am writing to report that when I was a player for the Portland Thorns in 2015, I not only witnessed but also experienced firsthand extremely inappropriate conduct by Mr. Riley,” Farrelly wrote in the email.

In her email, Farrelly outlined that she was bringing her complaint to the league’s attention in accordance with the recently implemented anti-harassment policy.

“I am bringing this to the League’s attention so that I can understand what steps, if any, the League intends to take in connection with the inappropriate conduct that was initially reported, given the apparent failure of the NWSL to take any action to protect players in response to the initial complaint.”

In response, Baird said that the initial complaint was “investigated to conclusion” before wishing Farrelly “the best.”

Morgan’s tweets come amidst a firestorm following allegations against Riley detailing numerous accounts of sexual coercion and emotional abuse.

Morgan’s USWNT teammate Megan Rapinoe has been vocal in her support of the players (and critical of the NWSL) throughout the developing saga.