Washington Mystics coach Sydney Johnson was ejected and escorted off by police after a heated argument with officials in the third quarter of a 109-77 defeat to the host Atlanta Dream on Saturday night.
The incident occurred after the Mystics’ Alicia Florez Getino was whistled for fouling Angel Reese on the Dream star’s drive to the basket with 3:52 left in the quarter and Atlanta leading 64-43.
Johnson argued with different referees as his assistant coaches and forward Kiki Iriafen tried to restrain him. He got two quick technical fouls and was ejected before three police officers escorted him off the court without incident.
“I lost my cool,” Johnson, 52, told reporters after the game.
“There’s nothing more than that,” he said. “That’s it. Officials did what was appropriate, and that’s all I can say.”
Asked what happened to trigger his response, Johnson said, “I’d rather not get into that.”
Washington suffered its worst loss of the season to fall to 4-5, while Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta improved to 7-3.
“I don’t want to take away from Atlanta playing really hard and from us having a learning moment for our team,” Johnson said. “Not a great moment for our team or me … but that certainly doesn’t define the togetherness, the toughness, the joy we have. My ejection is not a great thing. That’s certainly not going to be a consistent thing.”
Emre Vatansever, in his second season as a Mystics assistant coach, took over for Johnson the rest of the contest.
Johnson coached the Mystics to a 16-28 record in his first season in 2025 after serving as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky in 2024.
–Field Level Media
