WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert faced the media in a pre-Finals press conference on Friday, addressing last week's viral leadership take-down by Minnesota star Napheesa Collier — and calling out some of the Lynx forward's more controversial claims.
Engelbert said Collier's account of their past conversations "had a lot of inaccuracies," with the commissioner specifically denying that she said rookie stars like Caitlin Clark "should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars" for the exposure the WNBA provides.
"Obviously, I did not make those comments," Engelbert said. "There is a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all of this reporting."
With more players speaking out and CBA negotiations heating up, Engelbert took some responsibility for the state of the league — one Collier said has "the worst leadership in the world."
"I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league — and me, personally — don't care about them or listen to them," she said. "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."
Engelbert also told reporters she set up a meeting with Collier for this week, though ESPN later reported that Collier canceled the meeting after hearing the commissioner's Friday remarks.
Despite growing unrest throughout the WNBA, Engelbert also denied the recent rumors she'd be resigning from her post as commissioner anytime soon.
"I've never been a quitter," she stated.
Caitlin Clark is standing with Napheesa Collier, with the Indiana Fever star backing up the Minnesota Lynx forward's WNBA leadership concerns during her Thursday exit interview.
"I think what people need to understand, we need great leadership at this time across all levels — this is straight-up the most important moment in this league's history," Clark said in her first media availability since July.
"I have a lot of respect for Phee, and I think she made a lot of very valid points," she added.
Comments from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert about Clark have come under fire this week, after Collier reported that Engelbert responded to a question about the WNBA's low rookie salaries by saying Clark and her fellow rookies "should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars" for the media exposure the league provided.
The Indiana guard said she wasn't aware of Engelbert's comments, nor had the commissioner reached out since Collier's exit interview went viral.
"I'd say the most important part of leadership, whether that's the WNBA, whether that's corporate America, I think it comes down to relationships and really caring about the people you surround yourself with," Clark said.
With a new CBA on the line and little response from leadership, more and more WNBA players are speaking out — fueling tensions on both sides of the negotiating table.
The WNBA is coming to USA Network, as the league finalized a new 11-year media deal with NBC Universal sub-conglomerate Versant this week, expanding national coverage ahead of the 2026 season.
Running through the 2036 campaign, the deal allows USA Network to air at least 50 WNBA games per season, as the league's schedule continues to expand in the wake of incoming expansion teams.
Featured programming will include "marquee Wednesday night doubleheaders" as well as shared rights to the WNBA Playoffs and Finals, with the channel also providing its own pre- and post-game studio programming for each game.
While the parties did not reveal the additional value of this week's deal, the new agreement takes advantage of the league's exponentially increasing TV ratings by building on the original landmark 2024 WNBA media rights contract — an 11-year agreement valued at $2.2 billion that kicked in with the 2025 season.
"As demand for women's basketball continues to rise, partnerships like this expand the visibility and accessibility of our game," said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in Tuesday's press release. "By establishing a weekly primetime destination for fans, this agreement will showcase the excitement of the WNBA to more households than ever before and further elevate the incredible athletes in this league."
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is sticking around, with the WNBA vehemently denying Tuesday's Sports Business Journal report that Engelbert would likely resign as soon as the league settled the ongoing CBA negotiations.
The report characterized Engelbert's issues as relationship-driven, established long before Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier went viral for publicly criticizing league leadership earlier this week.
"She hasn't connected; she's not a relationship builder, which you have to be in that job with the teams, with the players," said an anonymous SBJ source.
In response, a WNBA spokesperson said the claims were "categorically false," with Engelbert remaining unavailable for comment.
Collier's interview spotlighted the league's refusal to deal with faulty officiating, among other concerns, calling the WNBA front office "the worst leadership in the world" as stalled CBA negotiations near their October 31st deadline.
"Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders," Collier read from a prepared statement on Tuesday. "They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging them to fix. That is negligence."
With Engelbert's reputation reaching a new low, the path to a new CBA appears as treacherous as ever — especially as other big-name players continue to voice support for the five-time All-Star.
The basketball world didn't hold back on Tuesday, with many of the sport's biggest names voicing support for Napheesa Collier after the Lynx star publicly criticized WNBA leadership in a now-viral press conference.
"I'm grateful to have those type of people to be able to continue to speak up for us," four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson told reporters after her Las Vegas Aces' Game 5 semifinal win. "I'm going to ride with Phee always…. Moving forward, we've gotta continue to stand on business as we talk about this CBA negotiation."
"I agree with everything," said Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull prior to Tuesday's playoff decider. "We're at a really important time in the league and changes need to be made… really proud of [Collier] for making that statement today."
"It's the care for the human part for me. I'm still not sure if [WNBA commissioner] Cathy [Engelbert] knows I retired. Heard from everyone but her," two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne wrote on Instagram.
"10/10. No notes!" tweeted Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, while 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers posted a photo of her and Collier to Instagram marked with the caption "Queen Phee."
The WNBA Players Association also spoke out, releasing a statement backing Collier as a longtime union leader.
"When Phee speaks, people listen," the WNBPA wrote. "The leaders of the league and its teams would benefit from listening to her powerful statement. The players know their value even if the league does not."
"They are fighting for their legacy and the future of basketball."
Five-time All-Star Napheesa Collier put the league on blast on Tuesday, calling out WNBA leadership at-large and, more specifically, describing commissioner Cathy Engelbert as "negligent" among other criticisms the Minnesota Lynx star voiced in her now-viral 2025 season exit interview.
Reading from a four-minute-long prepared statement, Collier accused WNBA leadership of not taking officiating concerns seriously, ignoring compensation demands, and overworking players, amid other major issues.
"We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world, but right now we have the worst leadership in the world," she said.
Collier describes "lack of accountability" from WNBA leadership
Amid ongoing CBA negotiations, Collier referenced her experience running Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball, with the offseason venture's co-founder saying, "If I didn't know exactly what the job entailed, maybe I wouldn't feel this way. But, unfortunately for [WNBA leadership], I do."
"You've heard the constant concerns about officiating, and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates," Collier said. "Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage."
"The real threat to our league isn't money, it isn't ratings, or even missed calls, or even physical play. It's the lack of accountability from the league office," she added.
Collier also quoted a conversation she had with Engelbert earlier this year, alleging that the commissioner said Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark shouldn't take issue with her relatively paltry $76,535 rookie salary "because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything."
In response to Collier's remarks, Engelbert did not speak directly with reporters, with the league instead releasing a brief written statement shortly after the Lynx star's exit interview swept the internet.
"I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver," Engelbert wrote.
Ticket prices are skyrocketing across the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressing the surge after several New York Liberty fans wore T-shirts in protest of the increase.
Donning orange shirts emblazoned with the phrase "We've been priced out," New York fans came together to express their frustrations at a recent game.
The WNBA fans' custom shirts referred to season ticket price jumps of more than 250%, saying the Liberty is asking upwards of $30,000 for 2026 renewals.
Some New York season ticket holders noted that their 2026 renewal more than triples the cost they paid for the team's 2024 championship-winning campaign.
The exponential increase isn't just occurring in the New York market, however — it points to an overall rise in ticket prices across the WNBA.
The WNBA's recent ticket surge has seen seats across the league jumping by an average cost increase of 43% in the last year alone.
"In order to fund all these investments that owners are making, and obviously paying the players more which we will do in this next CBA cycle…that's the reality," Engelbert said on Thursday's episode of In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams. "That's our responsibility as a league and team owners."
Calling the price hikes a result of "simple economics" and "high demand," Engelbert acknowledged the effect on fans, though did not address potential solutions.
"I realize there's some concern out there, certainly that we don't price out our kind of core fan base," she noted.
Congress members are speaking up for the WNBPA amid the union's ongoing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations, with 85 lawmakers from the Democratic Women's Caucus and the House Democratic Caucus sending an open letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Tuesday demanding that the league "bargain in good faith to reach a fair CBA in a timely manner before the October 31 deadline."
Citing concerns "about the WNBA's delayed response, the differing accounts on the status of negotiations, and.. the needs of players," the letter vehemently voices support for the Players Association as temperatures rise in the tense CBA negotiations.
The league and the WNBPA have struggled to find common ground, with both parties forced to consider filing an extension in the coming weeks.
"WNBA players receive no shared revenue under the current CBA," the Congress members explained in their letter. "This is drastic in comparison with other major professional sports leagues: National Basketball Association players receive 49 to 51%, National Football League players receive at least 48.8%, and National Hockey League players receive 50% of their respective shared revenues."
Players are also speaking out, with Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams recently telling CBS Sports, "The WNBA isn't enticing enough as far as money goes in order to keep us out of the other leagues."
The roller-coaster sale of the Connecticut Sun has taken another turn, with Front Office Sports reporting Wednesday that three different buyers are currently in play to take over the WNBA team.
Alongside former Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca's previous $325 million bid to take the team to Boston, ex-Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry recently offered a matching bid to keep the squad closer to their Uncasville home with a move to nearby Hartford.
The NBA's Houston Rockets ownership has also entered the mix, with reports indicating that WNBA leadership would prefer the franchise relocate from New England to the Texas city.
Topping the sale price with an additional relocation fee could be the best way for a potential owner to separate themselves from the pack, as the relocation fee directly benefits the WNBA's front office.
Should the Rockets' ownership at least match the Boston and Hartford bids — plus ante up a relocation fee — a move to Houston could be a lock, particularly considering WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert dubbed the Texas hub as "up next" in the league's ongoing expansion process.
Ultimately, all signs point to the WNBA looking to align the sale of the Connecticut Sun with the league's overarching goals, leaving multiple fanbases — both existing and potential — stuck in limbo.
The WNBA made a splash on Monday morning, announcing an expansion plan that will see the league officially grow to 18 teams by 2030, with new franchises joining from Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
Subject to approval by the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors, the league expects to add Cleveland in 2028, with Detroit following in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.
With existing NBA ownership groups backing all three cities, the league chose the trio because of "market viability, committed long-term ownership groups, potential for significant local fan, corporate, media, and city and state support, arena and practice facilities, and community commitment to advancing the sport, among other factors."
Notably, while Monday's news will bring a WNBA team to Philadelphia for the first time, the announcement represents a return for the league to both Cleveland and Detroit.
The Ohio city hosted one of the league's inaugural teams, the Rockers, from 1997 to 2003, while the Detroit Shock joined the WNBA in 1998, eventually relocating to Tulsa in 2010 before becoming the Dallas Wings in 2016.
Monday's WNBA expansion plan also follows the already announced incoming teams in Toronto and Portland, both set to tip off next season, as well as 2025 newcomer Golden State.
Each of the three incoming clubs in Monday's announcement paid a $250 million expansion fee — five times the $50 million that Golden State paid in October 2023.
"This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league's extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women's professional basketball," said commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "I am deeply grateful for our new owners… for their belief in the WNBA's future and their commitment to building thriving teams that will energize and inspire their communities."