WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert
vows to repair player relationships after criticism by Collier
[October 04, 2025]
By DOUG FEINBERG
LAS VEGAS (AP) — WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Friday
there's work to be done to repair relationships with players in the
league, while adding that there were “inaccuracies” in some of the
comments attributed to her by Napheesa Collier in a blistering
assessment earlier this week.
“I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league and
that I personally do not care about them or listen to them,”
Engelbert said before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night. “If
the players in the ‘W’ don’t feel appreciated and value from the
league, we have to do better and I have to do better.”
In wide-ranging comments, Engelbert said officiating will be
reviewed this offseason by a new “state of the game” committee. The
commissioner also said the league and the players' union have
meetings scheduled for next week to discuss a new collective
bargaining agreement. Engelbert also said she plans to remain as
commissioner after a CBA is finalized.
As for comments that Collier said Engelbert made in private
conversations about Caitlin Clark needing the WNBA to succeed
financially, the commissioner denied saying them.
“Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s
been a great representative of the game,” Engelbert said. “She’s
brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game.”
Engelbert said she's talked to Collier, the Minnesota Lynx star who
said Tuesday that the league has “the worst leadership in the world”
and a commissioner who lacks accountability. The two will meet next
week, either in person or virtually, Engelbert said.
The status of CBA negotiations
Engelbert believes a new CBA deal will get done, albeit not
necessarily by the Oct. 31 deadline.
“That is a real deadline from that perspective. We have extended
deadlines in the past,” she said. “I know last time when I was only
a couple days on the job, we got to an extension and got a deal
done. ... I feel confident that we can get a deal done, but if not,
I think we could do an extension.”
Engelbert said higher salaries for players is a goal both sides
share.
“We continue to meet and have important conversations with the
players' association. I want to reiterate that we want much of the
same things that the players want,” Engelbert said. “We want to
significantly increase the increase their salary and benefits, while
also supporting the long-term growth and viability of the WNBA.”
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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks prior to Game 1 of a WNBA
basketball final playoff series between the Las Vegas Aces and the
Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John
Locher)
Officiating review
Engelbert said it’s clear there are differences between the way
players and coaches feel about the physical nature of the game and
the way the referees officiate.
The committee tasked with reforming officiating will include
players, coaches, general managers and others.
“I think it’s pretty clear that we’re misaligned currently on what
our stakeholders want from officiating,” Engelbert said. “We have
heard loud and clear that we have not lived up to that needed
alignment.”
Engelbert said the league needs to look at “good, aggressive play
that we recognize has evolved into rough play and how to calibrate
the line for legal and illegal content to ensure player safety and
exciting competition.”
Engelbert's job status
Engelbert denied reports that she’ll be leaving the WNBA after the
new CBA is finished.
“I’ve never been a quitter. I’m entering my 40th year, actually,
this month in business. Never been a quitter. I’ve never shied away
from tough situations,” she said.
Engelbert has delivered on many of her promises since coming into
the league in 2019. She will have added six expansion teams by 2030
and secured a major new media rights deal for the next decade that
will bring in more than $2.2 billion. Engelbert also had the league
pay for a full charter flight program this season that the players
hope will be added to the new CBA to address concerns about issues
ranging from safety to travel time.
The league has enjoyed monumental growth over the last few years,
and Engelbert said she knows there's more work to be done.
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