Chicago’s most recent win against the New York Liberty wasn’t just a victory; it was a statement. Tyler Marsh said it best in the post-game presser, “We feel, as a team, we’ve kind of underachieved some this year. So there’s still reason and motivation to get up and to finish this season on a high note.” However, even after surprising the league and proving their mettle against the best, Marsh’s squad wasn’t entirely locked in ahead of the Connecticut game.

Right from the tip-off, Angel Reese & Co. did not manage to find their rhythm. They were giving up easy looks and bricking almost every shot. If 28-13 in favor of the Sun during the first quarter wasn’t demotivating enough, the Windy City ended up losing its coach before halftime.

What led to Chicago Sky HC Tyler Marsh’s ejection?

No one ever brings it up, but coming to Chicago must’ve been a tough transition for Tyler Marsh. He was coming off the high of 2 consecutive championships with the Aces, and now? The Chicago Sky head coach isn’t even certain about his own job. Fans have been calling for his head the entire season, criticizing his rotations, his plays, and his decisions. But Marsh kept his head down and continued to work. Even against officiating, he had maintained a diplomatic stance.

“Yeah, I mean, officiating is a tough job,” he had said, earlier this season when Angel Reese was issued a technical. He had calmly asked the refs to differentiate between passion for sport and the need for technical. Even as the losses piled up, he refused to pin the blame elsewhere. But tonight, a cool head was nowhere in sight.

Tyler Marsh lost his temper in the second quarter against the Connecticut Sun today. The Chicago Sky head coach found himself in a confrontation with the referee because of a disputed no-call situation. He thought it was a foul, the ref didn’t, and words were exchanged.

The next thing we saw? Marsh stormed onto the floor, immediately getting ejected from the game. The entire Chicago Sky bench emptied, stopping their head coach from getting physical with the game officials. Angel Reese and her fellow teammates had to hold him back as the game paused.

Soon after, a Chicago Sky staff member escorted Marsh back to the locker room.

Marsh has seen plenty missed calls for his frustration to boil over. And the scuffles in Sky vs Sun games have been plenty for the coach to know what a ‘no whistle’ can lead to. We have seen the hair grabbing instance between Reese and Bria Hartley. Then came the exchange between Hartley and Ariel Atkins after Rebecca Allen had grabbed onto the Sun guard’s jersey while falling.

As an added bonus, Sophie Cunningham had even taken matters into her own hands after the little kerfuffle among Jacy Sheldon, Caitlin Clark, and Marina Mabrey had drawn no whistle. So the head coach decided to take the matters into his own hands this time. But he wouldn’t be the only one to be in such a situation.

The WNBA’s officiating has been under fire for a while, and Marsh is joining a long list of coaches who’ve spoken out against it and faced the music.

Tyler Marsh joins a star-studded list of coaches after early-game ejection

Marsh is getting a lot of flak for his actions tonight, but he’s not the first head coach to get ejected arguing over a call, and he’s definitely not gonna be the last!

Firstly, we have Curt Miller. When the Dallas Wings GM used to be the head coach for Los Angeles last year, he blew an absolute gasket while losing to, you guessed it, the Connecticut Sun last year. It was the first-ever WNBA game at the TD Garden, and boy, was it one to remember. With a little over a minute left in the game, Miller had an on-court argument with the ref over a no-call. He made a scene, and the referee decided the Sparks HC would be better suited in the locker room for the rest of the game.

Secondly, we have 2x WNBA champ Becky Hammon. She got into multiple arguments with the ref while coaching against the Los Angeles Sparks in 2024. The Aces head coach got two technicals in one game and was booted with just 23.9 seconds left in the contest.

Even though Tyler Marsh’s actions played a huge role in Chicago’s unfortunate loss today, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. It is a coach’s job to stand up for his team and to make sure that the officiating is fair. Sure, he got lost in the passion, but the Chicago Sky head coach was coming from the right place.

The pool report even later revealed: “The no-call, in live play we did not see the illegal contact, but when we came back and looked at it postgame, there was contact which should have been called. We just missed the play, which we should have done a better job of.”