Not the Way Jose

Jose Fernandez said there was selfishness in the locker room after the Dallas Wings lost to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night.

That is a problem.

There is no excuse for that kind of public comment after coaching a team for three games. Maybe there was selfishness. Maybe there were bad possessions. Maybe players missed assignments, forced shots, or failed to execute the way the staff wanted. That happens. But calling it out publicly this early is not leadership. It is deflection.

There has been a lot to like about Dallas through the opening stretch. The Wings are exciting. The offense has real juice. The guard talent is obvious. The pace, creativity, and ceiling are all reasons optimism remains high. This is not a team that deserves to have its locker room questioned after one frustrating loss.

Fernandez was out-coached by Cheryl Reeve on Thursday night. That is not an insult. Reeve is one of the best coaches in the league, and she has been doing this at an elite level for a long time. Good coaches get out-coached sometimes. New situations take time. Chemistry takes time. Rotations take time.

But the response matters.

This is the first real red flag I have seen from Fernandez. The Dallas Wings need a leader who takes public responsibility, even when everything is not his fault. That is part of the job. Protect the players publicly. Correct them privately. Set the tone. Own the result.

The Wings have too much talent and too much upside for the head coach to start creating public cracks this early in the season.

Dallas can still be very good. The bigger question is whether Fernandez understands what this group needs from him.

Right now, the answer has to be better.