The WNBA has been in a firestorm of controversy surrounding Caitlin Clark and the perceived mistreatment she has endured from being an alleged a target of other players because she is straight, white and the anointed “face of the league.”
As the WNBA season moves on with exciting finishes and great performances, 90 percent of the media surrounding the season are arguments about Clark, which most would agree have gotten out of hand.
Throughout all of the madness, one absent voice has been WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who has been the subject of criticism for years now by the players in the WNBA. Her methods of handling issues that arise is usually not to meet them head on. Keep everything close to the vest.
Dan Patrick Blasts WNBA Commissioner For Setting & Cancelling Interview
Her silence is just as loud as any statement she could have made, and Dan Patrick is joining most of the players and House Republicans in demanding more transparency and accountability and a stronger voice from the commissioner.
Engelbert apparently was to appear on the “Dan Patrick Show” to discuss the state of the WNBA and finally share her thoughts on various issues, including how she is handling the Caitlin Clark fiasco, as well as her opinion on everything that has transpired since June 24, when Alyssa Thomas’ fist ended up near Clark’s neck at the end of a play, and the world went crazy over it, with everyone emotionally invested in Clark’s safety on the court.
Patrick says Engelbert stood him up and blamed her PR folks.
“She’s been very friendly to the show,” Patrick explained. “Todd (producer) said, ‘Ee’d love to have you on.’ There’s a lot of questions people had not heard answered from the commissioner and she said yes.”
Engelbert Had Dan Patrick Waiting Two Hours To Do Interview She Agreed To
“Yesterday after the show we waited almost two hours for her. This was scheduled. She was going to do a meeting in her hotel room, a conference call and then she was going to join us. Fritzy for at least 90 minutes is looking just for an update…we’re waiting to interview her. They didn’t balk at anything, they didn’t say you can’t ask anything. We thought we were going to finally be able to ask questions about Caitlin Clark, the WNBA, expansion and a lot of different things. And we waited and waited and waited. Then we got word that the Commissioner said the WNBA staff… the PR staff would prefer that she was not allowed to do this,” Patrick said.
Patrick also understands that things change and people of Engelbert’s stature are busy. But questioned why Engelbert didn’t check with PR before she said yes because they promoted it all day prior to the interview.
“It was her opportunity to finally say, ‘Hey, you can ask me the tough questions.’ I thought this was going to be a good thing for the WNBA. Because people still want answers here. There’s so many people who have an opinion. Agendas here. And this was her chance to sit down.”
Patrick mentioned that she went on a radio station in Kansas City that promised to toss her soft questions about expansion. Then he complained about the overall lack of accessibility in the WNBA office about what’s happening with Cailtin Clark and other issues. Patrick says he is giving the league a chance to get out in front of this.
“We reached out to the WNBA all week long,” Dan said. “So we can at least let the WNBA have a voice… Well at some point you have to do this. If you want to be treated as a serious league, this is what happens! These are tough questions, but this is a fair outlet for you – a fair platform. I will treat you with respect.”
“We deserve more respect than what she gave us yesterday,” Patrick continued.
Patrick doesn’t understand how with all of the expansion and elevation that the WNBA has experienced Engelbert doesn’t want to sit down and address some tough questions. He says he was very disappointed.
“If you tell us you’re coming on and make us wait two hours, that’s a problem.” Patrick lamented.
Patrick’s Opinion About Commissioner Was Supported By Certain Media
Voices in social media applauded Patrick’s rant and the icing on the cake was video of her playing golf while the sports world, Dan Patrick and even members of Congress, waited to see if the commissioner had any sense of awareness.
“The best part about this clip from Dan Patrick lambasting the WNBA commissioner, is the cutaway to Cathy Engelbert on the course SHANKING a shot from the sand trap,” one media voice captioned. WNBA is a wildly unserious, unprofessional league. Laughable the way it’s run.”
WNBA Fans Seem Fed Up With Divisive Takes
WNBA fans on the other hand, are tired of people who have never had a vested interest in the league attempting to stir drama and tear it down. Some simply said Patrick wasn’t qualified to do the interview.
“The only time you guys talk about the WNBA is when something negative has happened. The W isn’t a part of any daily lineup. Not even a weekly or monthly line up . Just negative,” one fan said.
“WNBA doesn’t need/want your target audience to be successful. They don’t have to cater to your target audience, nor you. It was a bad move on her part to accept, but PR did the correct thing. You are not qualified,nor the target demographic to cater to , to ask the questions,” a fan captioned above some statistical data to back up the point.
“Cathy may be a problem but I could care less about what Dan Patrick has to say about the WNBA,” one netizen commented. “He does not know how to discuss it in a gender neutral, healthy way. And he has been a part of the nasty, drama based narratives against the league. Dude is basically a Republican.”
“Honest question to Dan and these big time sports media personalities. When was the last time you went to a WNBA game?,” one fan scoffed.
Most fans are tired and exhausted of every WNBA narrative being covered in the media like a soap opera. Often by people who seem to want to kill the league if it doesn’t make sure Caitlin Clark is the end all be all.
“@WNBA @CathyEngelbert are the worst. They aren’t a business. They are social justice warriors for every liberal ideology. They were given their Tiger Woods, but she wasn’t the right color or sexuality,” one fan quipped.
“Women in general avoid difficult conversations and conflicts. Lol. Why do you think human nature would change? Lol,” said another fan in an attempt to disparage the female leadership throughout the W’s 30-year run.
Cathy Engelbert Is Thinking About The Entire League, Not One Person
Cathy Engelbert is consistent in the way she moves. Her mind is that of a litigator and personal connection doesn’t seem to be her strong suit. She also appears more comfortable in settings where she’s in total control of the narrative. You don’t see her do many Q&As or sit down exclusives. This is a very critical time for the WNBA and people don’t understand that Caitlin Clark isn’t the only piece to the puzzle. She might be the most important piece, but as long as she stays quiet, there are those inside the league who feel the commissioner should too.
If the original fan base is strong, Engelbert doesn’t feel as if she should cater to media ops at this time.
