Trinity University's Jacob Tingle Comments on WNBA Officiating Practices for the LA Times

Jacob Tingle, Ed.D. ’95, Trinity University associate professor of business administration, director of sport management, and alumnus, was asked by the Los Angeles Times why the WNBA’s structural backbone of officiating differs from the NBA in significant ways.

The LA Times article paints a picture of tension: elite WNBA players and coaches are calling out officiating as inconsistent and even dangerous, while league officials maintain confidence in their structured evaluation and feedback system. Tingle points out that the inherent structural limitations of the WNBA’s officiating model pose a significant barrier to consistency. Tingle, who has researched officiating networks and pathways, said, “You’re working three very different kinds of basketball … the reason the NBA or MLB works is because that’s all you do — you’re working the same kind of game only.”

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