It’s rare in professional sports to see a star publicly excoriate league leadership. Last week, the Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier delivered a savage takedown of commissioner Cathy Engelbert, saying the sport had “the worst leadership in the world” and accusing Engelbert of jeopardizing player safety by failing to address concerns with poor officiating.
“The real threat to our league isn’t money,” Collier said. “It isn’t ratings or even missed calls or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.”
Collier’s blunt assessment—in a statement she read before reporters—comes at an inflection point for the league. Ratings continue to climb, building off the explosion in popularity that began last season with the arrival of the rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Franchise valuations have skyrocketed, and the league is adding five more teams by 2030. Last year, the league announced a media-rights deal that is reportedly worth billions. But the relationship between the players and their commissioner couldn’t be worse.
More than ever, the players know their worth—and they haven’t been shy about letting the league know it. Before the WNBA All-Star Game, the players wore T-shirts that read Pay Us What You Owe Us in reference to their ongoing labor negotiations. The current agreement expires at the end of October, and players have been demanding higher salaries and a greater share of league revenue (they currently earn less than 7 percent, compared with the roughly 50 percent that NBA players receive).
In her speech, Collier shared the details of a private conversation she said she had with Engelbert during the offseason. According to Collier, when she asked Engelbert how she planned to rectify the fact that young sensations such as Clark, Reese, and Paige Bueckers make small salaries despite driving league revenue, Engelbert said that Clark should be “grateful” that the WNBA platform has allowed her to make millions off the court, in advertising and endorsements—even though Clark had a massive following as a college star and signed a deal with Nike worth a reported $28 million before she ever played a WNBA game. In the same conversation, Collier said Engelbert told her: “Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media-rights deal that I got them.”
“That’s the mentality driving our league from the top,” Collier said at the press conference. “The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them.”
In a brief statement, Engelbert said that she was “disheartened” by how Collier characterized their conversations and league leadership, and that she is committed to ensuring the WNBA’s “bright future.” She later denied saying that Clark should be “grateful” for the league, and said she was establishing a task force to evaluate officiating where players would be invited to express their concerns.
Collier’s candid remarks made clear just how much the player-league relationship has soured in recent years. The players, some now household names thanks to the growth of the league (and the success of a new three-on-three league that Collier herself co-founded), hold more power. As far as they’re concerned, the league should be grateful to them for remaining committed to its success, even as it treats their well-being as an afterthought.
Players across the league voiced their support for Collier, including Clark. “I think what people need to understand: We need great leadership in this time, across all levels,” she said. “This is straight up the most important moment in this league’s history. This league’s been around 25-plus years, and this is a moment we have to capitalize on. Phee said it all with what she said, and I think the points she made were very valid.”
Many saw Engelbert’s weak response as emblematic of how she has handled concerns from players and followers of the sport more broadly. Last September, Engelbert was asked how the league planned to address racist comments and abuse leveled by fans invested in the rivalry between Reese (who is Black) and Clark (who is white). “The one thing I know about sports: You need rivalry. That’s what makes people watch,” Engelbert said. “They don’t want everybody being nice to one another.” (Engelbert later apologized, saying that her statement had “missed the mark” and that there is no place for hate in the WNBA.)
League leadership has long been criticized for ignoring complaints that poor refereeing has led to more and more aggression on court and players being injured as a result. Collier’s own season ended with her in a boot after she collided with a Mercury player during the last minute of a semifinal game, tearing ligaments in her ankle. Her coach, Cheryl Reeve, had to be physically restrained from confronting the officials on the court when they did not call a foul. In a postgame press conference, Reeve blasted the league for poor officiating across the board—and was slapped with a one-game suspension and $15,000 fine in return. Collier said that when she brought up concerns about officiating to Engelbert months ago, the commissioner had responded: “Only the losers complain about the refs.”
Collier’s statement was a warning: “For too long, I have tried to have these conversations in private,” she said. “The league has made it clear it isn’t about innovation. It isn’t about collaboration. It’s about control and power.”
In many ways, Collier was the ideal person to deliver this message. Not just because she’s a vice president of the WNBA Players Association, a five-time All-Star, and one of the most respected voices in the league. But because she has proved that it’s possible to pay women what they’re worth and produce a phenomenal basketball product. This January, she launched Unrivaled, a smaller league that runs in the offseason and is already valued at $340 million. The average player salary was $220,000, compared with about $120,000 in the WNBA. Having seen what’s possible—a players’ league with proper pay, cutting-edge facilities, and on-site child care—the WNBA’s stars are no longer willing to tolerate anything less.
*Sources: Brian Fluharty / Getty; David Sherman / NBAE / Getty; Geoff Stellfox / Getty.
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