Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said she was “honestly disgusted” by the purported comments WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert made to the Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier last winter.
“But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of players’ association representing us, because that’s what we are going to have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in,” Wilson told reporters after the Aces’ 107-98 win over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night. “I’m grateful to have those types of people be able to continue to speak up for us.”
Collier read from a prepared statement during her exit interview with reporters. She called out what she believes is a broad “lack of accountability from the league office.”
The five-time All-Star went on to recount a chat she had with Engelbert while playing in Unrivaled last February. When Collier pressed the commissioner on the state of officiating, Engelbert allegedly said that “only the losers complain about the refs.”
The commissioner also claimed that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark should be “grateful” to the WNBA for boosting her off-court earnings, while players writ large “should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”
In response to Collier’s statement, Engelbert said she was “disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership.” The commissioner added that “my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”
Not surprisingly, players around the league threw their support behind Collier, who’s a vice president in the Women’s National Basketball Players Association:
The criticism toward Engelbert is coming from outside of the WNBA as well. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was among those saying the commissioner should resign:
Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday that Engelbert “would likely exit as commissioner sometime after the current CBA negotiations due to pressure inside NBA and WNBA circles.”
A WNBA spokesperson told Friend that rumor was “categorically false.”
In terms of the ongoing CBA negotiations, The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant reported that “players believe they are nowhere near a new deal with the league.”
Replacing the commissioner at this point may only complicate things, but the increasing scrutiny on Engelbert isn’t helping, either.
Should Clark, one of the WNBA’s biggest stars, offer a strong response to what the commissioner supposedly said about her, this will only become a bigger story.
