It’s going to take a long time for the women’s basketball community to grasp just how impactful the comments that Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier made when addressing the media on September 30 were.
While Collier made many poignant points about her exasperation with the WNBA league office and how the game has been officiated, the comments that she shared regarding a past conversation with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert have already had massive ramifications.
Collier said, “I also asked [Engelbert during a discussion earlier this year] 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.
“[Engelbert’s] response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.’ And in that same conversation, [Engelbert] told me, ‘Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars, for the media right deal that I got them.’ That’s the mentality driving our league from the top,” Collier continued.
A’ja Wilson Calls Cathy Engelbert Out After Aces Beat Fever in WNBA Playoffs
Several prominent WNBA players have already put Engelbert on blast for the comments that Collier relayed. The most recent person to do so is two-time reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who took time to put her commissioner on blast when speaking with the media after her Las Vegas Aces squad advanced to the WNBA Finals after beating the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.
“Had an opportunity to listen to Phee, and I just want to say, I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made,” Wilson said, per an X post from @ShowCaseShabazz.
“But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of our players’ association, representing us, because that’s what we’re gonna have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in.”
Wilson later added, “I’mma ride with Phee, because she knows, she’s a business girlie and she has her own stuff going on. But moving forward, we gotta continue to stand on business as we talk about this CBA negotiation.”
There has been some speculation that Engelbert’s time as WNBA commissioner could be coming to an end sooner rather than later. It seems that many WNBA players would welcome that change with open arms.
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