Last week WNBA and Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier called out WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and her lack of leadership. In fact, Phee said the WNBA had the “worst leadership in the world.” The elite two-way player was criticizing Engelbert for a myriad of things to include a perceived lack of accountability, a disregard for player safety due to poor officiating, and an ungrateful attitude towards players like Caitlin Clark, telling them they should be thankful for the league platform.
Napheesa Collier Cancels Meeting With WNBA Commish & Visits Kamala Harris
After canceling her meeting with Engelbert, which was scheduled for this week, Phee decided to talk with former Vice President Kamala Harris at her book event. There the former UConn Huskies star talked about why she came at Engelbert, while fans quickly came to social media to pretty much call Phee a whistleblower.
Phee Speaks And Fans Chastise Her
Speaking with the former VP during “A Day of Unreasonable Connection,” a one-day summit held annually in Los Angeles for changemakers, storytellers and activists, Phee elaborated on her turmoil with the leageu and its commissioner.
“I never had planned to do that,” Collier said. “I am on the union for CBA negotiations … and for so long, I felt like I saw what was going on behind closed doors. For so long, we tried to have these conversations and move the needle. … And I saw nothing was changing.”
She also stated to Harris that it was the “right thing to do,” and she didn’t care about the possible blowback.
“Coaches winning and losing alike were complaining about the same things over and over again, players over and over again, and we weren’t seeing a change that our leadership was trying to make,” said Collier, who wore a boot on her right foot after tearing several ligaments in her ankle and a muscle in her shin on a controversial play in the final seconds of Lynx’s Game 3 semifinal loss to the Mercury.
“Whether I was going to get annihilated for this or people were going to support me, I felt what I was doing was right. I felt like it needed to be said,” Collier added.
Blowback Hasn’t Come From Players But Fans
While Phee’s takedown of Engelbert and WNBA leadership has been received with open arms by current and former players alike, she’s received some blowback from fans who call her a whistleblower.
Fans took to social media to voice their displeasure with Phee.
“Phee’s stunt was messy and unprofessional,” said one fan.
“So, after villainizing the WNBA, Phee goes on a “We are Victims” tour. Wonder if she has an apology written up to the 144+ women who are about to lose their steady family income. Which they were able to earn without leaving their family to work abroad,” another fan quipped.
“She’s looking more shady every day. Why go on this platform instead of going to the meeting with Cathy?,” another fan said.
“Two losers side by side!,” another fan mentioned.
“Wow, she seriously went on THIS show to continue her narrative. Not sure how this is going to help her cause… She may lose everything now,” another fan spewed.
Phee Healing And Prepping For Season 2 Of Unrivaled: New WNBA Commissioner LIsa Leslie?
With the second season of Unrivaled roughly three months away the expectation is Phee who’s recovering from an injury suffered in Game 3 of the Lynx’s playoff loss to the Phoenix Mercury will be ready to go. The league started by her and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart reached unprecedented heights in year one and was considered successful. That’s in large part because of high viewership, financial success (league generated $30 million) in its inaugural season, a strong foundation and a future growth and expansion.
Some believe Phee’s rant is her also trying to push her league a bit more, but in the meantime he has put the WNBA commissioner in the cross-fire and changed the way these CBA negotiations usually function by challenging the league’s czar and calling Engelbert a liar in public.
