Candace Parker causes a stir with frank opinions on WNBA Finals officiating

Former WNBA star Candace Parker has caused a stir with her perspectives on the New York Liberty's WNBA Finals win over the Minnesota Lynx.

The Liberty claimed their first WNBA championship Sunday night with a 67-62 overtime win over the Lynx. However, there were some questionable calls in the game , including a foul on Alanna Smith in the final seconds of regulation.

Many WNBA fans believed the Lynx should've won the championship but Parker has offered a different perspective. "Refs sucking and missed calls are part of the game," Parker said.

"Was that reviewed foul call a foul? I don’t think it was. Marginal contact," she added on Smith's foul. "That call didn’t lose the game but boy it wlda prolly won it for Minny if it was overturned," she continued.

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Parker did offer some sympathy for the Lynx, having been in that position herself during her career. Bad calls in professional sports aren't uncommon and Parker says she's been on the receiving end of some, including the Los Angeles Sparks' 2017 Finals defeat to Minnesota.

"Congrats to NY Liberty on the ship. This WNBA season has been fun to watch as a first time fan," Parker said. "I’ve been to the finals. Won & lost ‘ships. But there is no bigger emotion than losing and listening to the other team celebrate while you are in the lockeroom. I can remember the champagne, but I can FEEL the gut wrenching pain in my stomach when we fell short….

"My heart goes out to Phee and Minny and all the players (I can’t believe I’m saying this, Minny got a couple of those ships on us) Falling short is gut wrenching."

Fans also asked Parker whether she would get into coaching in the WNBA. However, Parker has one condition on becoming a coach. "They say never say never…. But unless it’s my kids’ travel ball team… NEVER," she replied to a fan.

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was furious by some of the calls in the Finals. "I saw a very physical and aggressive New York team," Reeve said. "We know this from being a part of the game for so long that sometimes, you get away with stuff when you're playing physical and aggressive, and they certainly did. It's a shame that officiating had such a hand in a series like this."

"Obviously, there's always going to be a team that's a little bit disappointed. I thought today was incredibly disappointing. We have got to change our Challenge rules and the officials doing the game should have a third party because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge. But on the other end, when we challenged it, if we would have turned that clip in, they would have told us that it was marginal contact, no foul. Guaranteed. Guaranteed. So when you review, those should be the same parameters that you're reviewing with."