Mystics' Johnson escorted off court by police after ejection - ESPN

Washington Mystics coach Sydney Johnson was escorted off the court by police after he was ejected for arguing with officials during Saturday's 109-77 loss to the host Atlanta Dream.

Johnson was ejected at the 3:52 mark of the third quarter after Washington's Alicia Florez Getino was called for a foul while defending Atlanta's Angel Reese driving to the basket. Johnson got into a protracted argument with the officials as his assistants tried to get him to return to the bench.

Three police officers then came out to walk with Johnson, who at that point calmly left the court.

Afterward, Johnson told reporters, «I lost my cool.»

«There's nothing more than that,» Johnson said. «That's it. Officials did what was appropriate, and that's all I can say.»

The Mystics trailed 64-43 at the time of the ejection. The 32-point loss marked Washington's worst of the season.

When asked what upset him about the play, Johnson said, «I'd rather not get into that.»

«I don't want to take away from Atlanta playing really hard and from us having a learning moment for our team,» he 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.»

Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen was among those who tried to calm Johnson.

«Coach always has our back,» said Iriafen, who led the Mystics with 24 points. «He's going to do whatever to protect us. I was just trying my best to kind of diffuse it.»

The Mystics are the youngest team in the WNBA, with an average age of 23.4 years. Johnson was asked if he believed he needed the ejection to advocate for his team.

«I'm not a big proponent of that,» he said. «I do