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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert denies comments on Caitlin Clark, will not resign
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- WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert denies comments on Caitlin Clark, will not resign
LAS VEGAS — WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has denied commenting on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark .
"Obviously, I did not make those comments," Engelbert said on Friday ahead of Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals, three days after Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier publicly criticized Engelbert in a scathing statement.
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In Collier's exit interview on Tuesday, she disclosed a private conversation she had with Engelbert, alleging the commissioner said Clark "should be grateful to make $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything" when asked about increasing player's salaries.
Engelbert said she was "disheartened by how Napheesa (Collier) characterized our conversation" in a statement released on social media on Tuesday, but didn't directly deny making the comments about Clark. Until Friday.
"Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She's been a great representative of the game. She's brought in 10 of millions of new fans to the game," Engelbert said when pushed to clarify what exactly she said. "I'm not going to get into every point (and) counterpoint. It's not productive here. ... But yeah, as I said, there's a lot of inaccuracies reported out there and I certainly did not say that."
However, Engelbert stopped short of denying saying "players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them," as Collier said in her statement.
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"I think obviously a lot of reporting and a lot of inaccuracy about what I said or what I didn't say," Engelbert said when asked to clarify. "I have been in touch with Napheesa (Collier), we've exchanged texts. We're talking next week. ... I highly respect the players. There's a lot of emotion and passion going on right now because we're in collective bargaining, we're in the WNBA Finals and so I'll leave it there."
The criticism of Engelbert highlights the growing divide between players and league leadership amid ongoing contract negotiations as the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was signed into effect in January 2020, shortly after Engelbert took over as commissioner in 2019, is set to expire on October 31, 2025 after the WNBPA opted out. Engelbert was asked if she believed she was the right person to lead the negotiations.
"I've never been a quitter, never shied away from tough situations," Engelbert said. "I think leadership, the cream always rises to the top and I've always been someone who believes in the fact that we have, if there's things we need to fix, we're going to fix 'em. If there's things the players have a perspective on that they don't like that we're doing or I'm doing, we'll fix"
Many WNBA superstar players and coaches backed Collier's sentiments . Clark said Collier "said it all," while the Las Vegas Aces four-time MVP A'ja Wilson said she was "honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made."
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If both sides don't reach an agreement before the CBA expires, the league could experience a work stoppage and temporarily shut down until a contract is signed. A lockout could result in the 2026 season being delayed or canceled, a growing possibly and concern for the players.
"We continue to meet and have important conversations with the players association," Engelbert said on Friday. "I want to reiterate that we want much of the same things that the players want. 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... We'll continue to negotiate in good faith until we get a transformative deal done."
"I hope we got a league," Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said on Wed, Oct. 1 in her exit interview. "I hope that when it's all said and done ... we can have a season, period."
Engelbert said she's "confident that we can get a deal done, but if not, I think we could do an extension" and said she remains the right person to lead the league through the next CBA.
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The WNBA has never experienced a lockout in its 28-year history, although the 2003 WNBA draft and preseason were postponed before a new CBA was reached in 2003. It's worth noting that the WNBA expansion drafts for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire are tentatively set for December and could be affected by a stoppage.
"Whether it's a lockout or strike, there's deadlines and there's extensions that could be done," Engelbert said. "You want to make sure you're capitalizing on all this momentum that we've built up over the last five years or so and that are really driving viewership into our game and fandom... this is all the important stuff of why we need to get this transformational CBA done as soon as we can because that's where you see the potential for the future of this game."
During the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend in July, Engelbert said she had "confidence we can get something done by October," although she wouldn't "put an exact date on it." She added, "Would we like to get it done? Yes. Does it have to be done exactly on that date? We've got some room to continue negotiations if we're close at that point."
But the latest controversy shows just how far the players and the league remain on a deal as the clock ticks.
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"I feel confident that we can repair any loss of trust," Engelbert added. "I hope all the players will engage and know what proposals we put on the table. And I think now's the time to do that as we get up to the end of the season and then into the end of this calendar year. So yeah, we will dialogue with players. I mean one-on-one relationships, groups of relationships."
Another point of contention in the league has been officiating and the growing physicality of the game, topics that were renewed during the postseason. Coaches and players from various teams have publicly pleaded for reform, including Aces head coach Becky Hammon, Indiana Fever head coach Stephane White and Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve , who were all were swiftly met with fines.
"The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worth is f---ing malpractice," Reeve said in an expletive-filled rant after being ejected for arguing a non-call in the Lynx's Game 3 semifinal loss to the Phoenix Mercury , resulting in a $15k fine and a one-game suspension for Game 4 . Reeve called for a "change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating."
Engelbert said she's had "a lot of conversations" with the league's officials on consistency.
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"Everybody has their opinion on officiating in every sport ... but yeah, certainly something we're talking about," she added. "The officials are evaluated. Every ... non-call and call is evaluated for every game during the season. This isn't something we blow off. They're evaluating every call and no-call. So think about that. That's every play in every game. Film is reviewed, there's training, there's officiating, there's points of emphasis obviously. So we continue to have those discussions with officiating crews even here."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA commish Cathy Engelbert denies Clark comments, not resigning
