Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier usually does her lighting up on the hardwood. But earlier this week the dynamic two-way star, who was a frontrunner for MVP until a late-season ankle injury and the play of Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson overtook her for the award, came out firing with her voice.
During her exit interview this week, Collier called out WNBA leadership, and mainly commissioner Cathy Engelbert being in her opinion nonexistent. Collier’s comments were shared by multiple current and former players who sided with her.
WNBA Commissioner Engelbert Tries To Extinguish The Flames Started By Napheesa Collier
In the aftermath of Phee lighting the fire, Engelbert was forced to address the elephant in the room during her annual postseason news conference on Friday.
Speaking from Las Vegas prior to Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury, Engelbert did her best damage control on her name, reputation and the league. In many ways Engelbert’s comments were pretty much saying that Phee wasn’t speaking the complete truth in her comments.
Cathy Engelbert Disputes Collier’s Account Of Conversations
Engelbert called much of what Phee mentioned inaccurate, and she also addressed how players view her and the league.
“I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league and me personally do not care about them or listen to them,” Engelbert said. “And if the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better.”
She also made it very clear that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and that includes after a new CBA deal is reached.
“That’s another inaccurate statement out there that everybody reads and takes clickbait on,” she said. “Obviously, I’ve never been a quitter. … If there’s things we need to fix, we’re going to fix them. If there’s things the players have a perspective on that they don’t like what we’re doing, or I’m doing, we’ll fix them.”
But, as she’s long done, Engelbert pretty circumvented the question by not mentioning any specifics it will require other than dialogue to it sort out.
Engelbert Talks Zebras
A real sticking point in Phee’s presser was the officiating needing some serious improvement, and Engelbert touched on that subject.
“There are no greater stakeholders than our players,” Engelbert said about their participation in a new refereeing task force. “Their voice is integral to the alignment that is required for good officiating. … We will take a hard look at what the proper line should be for good, aggressive play that we recognize has evolved into rough play, and how to calibrate the line for legal and illegal content to ensure player safety and exciting competition.”
Sophie Cunningham Blasts Cathy Engelbert
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham indicated in a social media she isn’t buying it until she sees it.
“I think there is room for improvement when the whole league is asking for it. But when the leadership isn’t doing anything about it? Why? The game isn’t fun to watch bc everyone is trying to kill each other…”
It’s the first time Engelbert, the commissioner since 2019, has admitted that the officiating needs fixing.
Engelbert Speaks CBA Negotiations
Player salaries has been a longstanding issue in the league, and with the new CBA on the horizon and players showing unity at the July All-Star Game with the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts, the commissioner said the league is definitely committed to increasing pay but again didn’t give any specifics.
“We want to significantly, and I mean significantly, increase their salary and benefits, while also supporting the long-term growth and viability of the WNBA,” Engelbert said. “We have made proposals to that end. We have been meeting regularly throughout the summer and playoffs, and we will continue to negotiate in good faith until we get a transformative deal done.”
She Denies Caitlin Clark Comments
Engelbert called Phee’s remarks about her saying players should be grateful she landed the rights deal was inaccurate and also denied saying Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark owed her slew of individual endorsements to the platform the WNBA has afforded her.
“Obviously, I did not make those comments,” Engelbert said. “Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game … But again, I’m not going to get into every point, counterpoint. It’s not productive here. We’re here to celebrate the WNBA Finals.”
Per Engelbert, she and Phee are expected to meet at the conclusion of the WNBA Finals.
