A'Ja Wilson Says Olympic Ref Told Her To Get Her 'Emotions In Check’

Of course, emotions run high during the Olympic Games. But according to one referee, A'Ja Wilson went a little bit overboard.

The Team USA basketball star said an official warned her to tone it down during Team USA’s win over Belgium on Thursday night.

"(He said) I need to, get my emotions in check, and I think that just heightened my emotions even more because I’m like, ‘How are you going to tell me at my job that I can’t show emotion, passion?’" Wilson said. 

"So I keep my cool. I continue being me. I keep my cool by understanding who I am and who I have around me, and don’t look back and just keep going."

An Olympic ref reportedly told A'Ja Wilson to cool it.

(Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

Wilson said the official made the comment after he had gone back to look at a replay.

"I’m not telling him don’t blow your whistle, like I’m not telling you how to do your job, don’t tell me how to do mine," the two-time WNBA MVP said.

Team USA beat Belgium, 87-74, with more than 25,000 fans in attendance. Granted, most of them were cheering for Belgium, as the game took place at Pierre Mauroy Stadium — just 6 miles from the country's border.

Wilson is averaging 23.5 points and 13 rebounds for Team USA in Paris. And don't expect her to change her style moving forward.

"I’m not going to let a defender think that they stopped me. I don’t think I’m ever going to let them off the hook," she said. "And that’s what I got to keep doing. So to that ref, I’m going to keep yelling. I’m gonna keep screaming. I’m gonna keep fussing, cussing anywhere in-between cheering. Because that’s the game that I play."

The U.S. women's basketball team is competing for its eighth-consecutive Olympic gold medal.

(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

The U.S. will face Germany on Sunday with first place in Group C on the line. Both teams are 2-0 and have already advanced to the quarterfinals.

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