Chicago Sky veteran Natasha Cloud blamed the referees for Rickea Jackson’s injury in Sunday’s clash against the Minnesota Lynx. While it was a non-contact knee injury, Cloud felt the referees didn’t do a great job of controlling the game beforehand, which indirectly resulted in Jackson’s devastating blow.
The players requested the WNBA to change how the game is called to avoid the excessive physicality allowed last year. The issue blew up after Napheesa Collier’s ankle injury in the playoffs against the Phoenix Mercury. Since then, the referees have kept a tighter whistle and called more fouls per game than last year.
However, Cloud felt that wasn’t the case in Sunday’s game. She called out the trio of officials, Maj Forsberg, Tiara Cruse, and Clare Aubry, saying:
“My message to the three refs, Maj, Tiara and Clare, is that on top of the points of emphasis that were emphasized at the beginning of the season, their ultimate job is to control and protect the players in this game. And I think that this group today failed to do so. They failed to protect Rickea, they failed to control the game.”
Cloud revealed her exchange with them shortly before Jackson’s injury. After a no-call against her, Cloud told them to control the game as the physicality was increasing. She noted that on the next possession, Jackson dealt with a lot of hand-checking and shoving.
Cloud got in the referee’s face and got whistled for a tech. She said it was important for her to do that after Jackson got injured.
“Truthfully, I think it’s bull***t,” Cloud said. “Obviously, I needed to get the tech. A lot of people think that, you know, I’m a crash out, but it was very intentional because I would be damned if a player gets hurt on our team … something that was controllable by the referees. That is the part of their job and there was no foul called as well.”
Natasha Cloud lauded the point of emphasis on keeping the game tight, but believes the referees must do a better job of balancing the whistle than they have.
Rickea Jackson to go under MRI, Sky hope for the best
Rickea Jackson will undergo an MRI on Monday, Sky coach Tyler Marsh revealed after Sunday’s win. Marsh said Jackson was in “decent spirits,” but he didn’t have an immediate update. By the looks of it, Jackson may have suffered an MCL or ACL injury.
Both could be devastating; an MCL injury can see her miss significant time this year, while an ACL injury will rule her out until next season. Jackson emerged as one of the breakout talents following her trade to Chicago. In three games before Sunday’s outing, she averaged a career-high 22.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 blocks.
The Sky won 3 of their first four games, with Jackson playing a significant role. Her absence could be a huge blow to the team because of her production.
