{"id":39409,"date":"2025-09-25T16:50:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=39409"},"modified":"2025-09-25T16:50:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:50:35","slug":"3-referees-have-been-terminated-and-fined-500000-each-after-being-found-guilty-of-fraud-in-an-alleged-attempt-to-rig-a-semifinal-game-between-the-indiana-fever-and-the-las-vegas-aces-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=39409","title":{"rendered":"3 referees have been terminated and fined $500,000 each after being found guilty of fraud in an alleged attempt to rig a semifinal game between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces. – News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WNBA Rocked by Historic Bribery Scandal Involving Three Referees<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through the basketball world, three referees who officiated the recent WNBA semifinals between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces have been terminated and fined $500,000 each after being found guilty of fraud. League officials confirmed that the trio were central figures in what is now being described as the largest bribery scandal in WNBA history.<\/p>\n

According to an internal investigation led by the WNBA\u2019s Integrity Unit in coordination with independent auditors, the referees were found to have accepted undisclosed payments from third-party entities with a vested interest in the outcome of the game.<\/p>\n

The probe revealed deliberate and consistent bias in critical calls that may have influenced the final result of the high-stakes matchup.<\/p>\n

\"7\/02\/24<\/p>\n

\u201cThe integrity of the game is non-negotiable,\u201d WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a press statement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a deeply troubling incident that undermines the trust of our players, teams, and fans. We are committed to full transparency and to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The referees, whose names have not yet been publicly released pending further legal proceedings, are believed to have been involved in a broader network of individuals engaged in game manipulation for financial gain. Federal authorities have reportedly launched a separate criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

\"Indiana<\/p>\n

Both the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces have issued statements expressing shock and concern, calling for a thorough review of the semifinal results and safeguards to prevent future misconduct.<\/p>\n

This scandal marks a dark chapter for the WNBA at a time when the league has been enjoying growing popularity and visibility. League officials have vowed to implement stricter oversight and more rigorous background checks for all game officials going forward.<\/p>\n

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Las Vegas Aces pick up bounce-back win over Indiana Fever, even WNBA semifinal series at 1-1<\/h1>\n

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LAS VEGAS \u2014 The Aces evened their WNBA semifinal series with the Fever, 1-1, Tuesday night in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s WNBA MVP, A\u2019Ja Wilson, scored 25 points and corralled nine rebounds to push the Aces to a 90-68 win. Wilson enjoyed a bounce-back performance in Game 2 of the series after amassing just 16 points on 6-of-22 shooting in Game 1.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Wilson\u2019s efforts, the Aces got off to a fast start. Las Vegas led 26-17 at the end of the first quarter, and with about six minutes left in the second quarter, the Aces\u2019 lead ballooned to 17 points.<\/p>\n

Indiana briefly appeared poised to challenge Las Vegas\u2019 lead in the third quarter. With just under nine minutes left in the third period, point guard Odyssey Sims hit two free throws to cut Indiana\u2019s deficit to eight, 50-42.<\/p>\n

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Las Vegas\u2019 success can at least partly be attributed its ability to stop the Fever\u2019s WNBA MVP finalist, Kelsey Mitchell. In Game 1 of the series, Mitchell scored 34 points. She managed just 13 points in Game 2.<\/p>\n

The Fever\u2019s leading scorer in Game 2 was Sims with 18 points.<\/p>\n

Forward NaLyssa Smith also played a key role in the Aces\u2019 win Tuesday night. She finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.<\/p>\n

Smith started her WNBA career with the Fever in 2022. She played three seasons with Indiana and had a brief stint with the Dallas Wings before landing with the Aces.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s output Tuesday far exceeded her season average. On the year, she\u2019s scored about 7.6 points a game.<\/p>\n

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Four of Indiana\u2019s five starters scored in double figures Tuesday night, counting Sims and Mitchell. Center Aliyah Boston and guard Lexie Hull finished the contest with 10 and 15 points, respectively.<\/p>\n

Indiana has been ravaged by injuries for much of the season, and Game 2 of the WNBA Finals was no exception. Forwards Damiris Dantas and Chloe Bibby and guards Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson and Caitlin Clark all missed the game with injuries.<\/p>\n

Clark played in just 13 games in 2025. The second-year guard out of Iowa, who has been working through a groin injury, was\u00a0ruled out for the remainder of this season\u00a0on Sept. 4.<\/p>\n

Cunningham played in 30 games this season before she sustained\u00a0a season-ending knee injury\u00a0in August.<\/p>\n

Game 3 of the WNBA semifinal series between the Aces and Fever will begin on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Game 4 of the series is slated for Sunday 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

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WNBA Rocked by Historic Bribery Scandal Involving Three Referees In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through the basketball world, three referees who officiated the recent WNBA semifinals between … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39411,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39409\/revisions\/39411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}