WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert responds to emphatic Napheesa Collier call out

On Tuesday, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier called out the WNBA’s leadership, specifically commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Only hours later, Engelbert responded to Collier’s comments with a written statement.

“I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA,” Engelbert wrote, per On3’s Talia Goodman. “Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league.

“My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game. I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”

Collier criticized Engelbert from several angles. First, Collier took aim at the league’s officiating. Collier and the Lynx made headlines on Sunday when they fell to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semifinals.

Thew game was particularly physical and Collier left the game with an injury. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve tore into the officiating after the game, claiming it was “malpractice” for the WNBA’s leadership to deem the game’s referees worthy of officiating such an important game. Collier backed her coach on Tuesday.

“Since I’ve been in the league, you’ve heard the constant concerns about officiating and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates,” Collier said. Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.”

Collier took her complaints a step further when she questioned the sustainability of the WNBA, as a whole, under its current leadership. Collier pulled the curtain back on personal conversations between her and Engelbert to make her point.

“I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin [Clark], Angel [Reese], and Paige [Bueckers], who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years,” Collier said. “Her response was Caitlin should be grateful she makes $60 million off the court because, without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything. And, in that conversation, she told me players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”

Engelbert has been the WNBA’s commissioner since 2019. The league has seen a massive increase in popularity the past two years due to young stars such as Caitlin Clark. Now, Collier is wondering aloud if the league’s leadership needs new blood as well.

“Right now, we have the worst leadership in the world,” Collier said. “We serve a league that has shown they think championship coaches and Hall of Fame players are dispensable, and that’s fine. It’s professional sports. But I will not stand quietly by and allow different standards to be applied at the league level.”