Caitlin Clark says Collier made
'valid' points and Commissioner Engelbert hasn't contacted her
[October 03, 2025]
By MICHAEL MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark says she hasn't spoken to WNBA
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert this week.
But she is ready to add her name to the growing list of players
criticizing the league's leadership.
The Indiana Fever guard spoke publicly Thursday for the first time
since All-Star weekend and acknowledged Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa
Collier made “valid" points when she took her complaints about WNBA
executives public.
“I think what people need to understand, we need great leadership in
this time, across all levels," Clark said. “This is straight up, the
most important moment in this league's history. This league's been
around 25 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.”
Collier criticized the league's top brass for fining players and
coaches who speak out about officiating and other WNBA matters. Her
comments came two days after the top-seeded Lynx were eliminated
from the playoffs without Collier, who suffered an ankle injury on a
no-call play near the end of Game 3, or coach Cheryl Reeve, who was
suspended and fined after storming the court and contesting the
no-call.
While other players and coaches have joined the chorus, Clark had
remained silent until Thursday as she continued to recover from what
turned out to be a season-ending right groin injury. Her rehab was
complicated by what she called the worst sprained ankle she's ever
suffered as she started to practice.
In fact, she's still not 100%. Clark said she hopes to return to
playing five-on-five by late October and will spend part of the
offseason focusing on USA Basketball responsibilities.
"I think when I get a few years down in my career, this is a moment
and a season I’ll look back on and be like, ‘This is why I am who I
am today,’” she said. “It’s obviously challenging to think that way
right now, but I truly believe that. It was pretty hard sitting on
the bench. I’m not going to lie. There were certainly hard days.”
On Tuesday, Collier also recounted a private conversation she said
she had with Engelbert in February. Collier said the commissioner
told her Clark and other players “should be on their knees” in
gratitude for the platform the league has given them. Collier said
the commissioner singled out Clark’s endorsement deals, saying she
wouldn’t have them if not for the WNBA.
Engelbert released a statement a few hours later in which she said
she has the “utmost respect” for Collier but was “disheartened” by
how her conversations had been characterized.
Clark said Thursday she had neither heard Collier's story previously
or spoken with Engelbert since the reports came out.
Her Fever teammates also got the chance to speak on the league's
issues at the end-of-season media availability. With a new
collective bargaining agreement still to be worked out, more
complaints about the officiating and a leaguewide increase in
injuries, there was plenty to talk about.
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Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark signs autographs before Game 3 of a
WNBA basketball playoff semifinals series against the Las Vegas
Aces, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron
Cummings)
“I'm tired of our league, they need to step up and be better,”
outspoken guard Sophie Cunningham said, explaining she thinks
there's a good chance of a lockout in the spring and that she's
heard from NBA players who are upset too. “Our leadership from top
to bottom needs to be held accountable. I think that there are a lot
of people in the position of power in the WNBA, who they might be
really great business people, but they don't know (expletive) about
basketball and that's got to change.”
She added: “The game's not fun to watch because everyone's just
trying to kill each other because that's how you're going to survive
or otherwise you get injured."
Cunningham knows. She and Clark were two of four Fever players who
went down with season-ending injuries this season and then watched
their teammates win their first playoff series in a decade before
pushing second-seeded Las Vegas to a fifth and final game and then
into overtime without their other two All-Stars, center Aliyah
Boston and guard Kelsey Mitchell. Boston fouled out and Mitchell was
taken to a hospital after suffering cramps so severe she couldn't
feel her legs or feet.
"I’m feeling fine,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think I could play in a
real game for another ... I mean, realistically, just take some time
to rest. But I probably should take some time to kind of reset
because I lost a lot of fluid. I just kind of felt scared because my
legs were so numb and so paralyzed, so to speak, that I couldn’t
feel my feet.”
Fever executives said one of their top offseason priorities was
re-signing Mitchell, Indiana's top scorer.
But before looking ahead to next season, the WNBA and its players
must figure out how to resolve the growing complaints — and the
looming labor strife.
"We are in the biggest moment in WNBA history. There's no denying
that. Everybody knows that, everybody that's in a place of power has
a true responsibility, even myself, we have a responsibility to make
sure this game is in a great place going forward with the CBA and,
you know, caring for players and building this league to make sure
its in a great spot for many years to come.”
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