Overview

• On ESPN's First Take, Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo prefaced his comments by saying he doesn't follow the WNBA carefully before delivering a two-minute critique.
• Russo defended the officiating on the play that injured Napheesa Collier, said 'that was not a foul,' and tied criticism of Cathy Engelbert to ongoing CBA negotiations.
• He questioned Collier’s decision to speak after the Minnesota Lynx were eliminated and blasted coach Cheryl Reeve for conduct that resulted in a Game 4 suspension.
• ESPN analyst Monica McNutt remained on-screen and reacted throughout, with her expressions widely shared in clips and write-ups by Awful Announcing and For The Win.
• Collier has accused league leadership of 'negligence' and called out officiating inconsistency, with the broader governance and CBA disputes unresolved in the coverage.