WNBA fines Mercury $10,000 for violating media access rules

The fine is the biggest in league history for a media infraction.

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The WNBA fined the Phoenix Mercury $10,000 for violating the league’s media access rules after the team lost the Finals to the Sky.

The WNBA fined the Phoenix Mercury $10,000 for violating the league’s media access rules after the team lost the Finals to the Sky.

Paul Beaty/AP

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury were fined $10,000 on Tuesday by the WNBA for violating the league’s rules on postgame media interview access following Game 4 of the WNBA Finals at Wintrust Arena.

The Mercury’s players — including stars Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith — didn’t do interviews with reporters after the Sky’s series-clinching 80-74 win on Sunday. The $10,000 fine is the biggest in league history for a media infraction.

Instead of talking to reporters, Taurasi — the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer — apparently made her feelings known to a door in the Wintrust Arena locker room, allegedly kicking it in after the game.

When asked about the door by a reporter Tuesday, Taurasi said, “There was a lot of doors in there.”

The Sky had a bit of fun with the situation by bringing the damaged door to Tuesday’s championship parade and rally at Millennium Park.

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