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The WNBA players have had complaints against officiating for a long time, but Napheesa Collier, with her latest shot, has taken the allegations a bit higher. Besides calling out the league for having the ‘worst leadership’, Collier, in her exit interview, alleged that Cathy had said: “Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.” If there was any room for mending ties, expect it to be kept on the shelf for the time being.
As expected, in the follow-up, these comments were strongly denied by the commissioner. However, it seems like denying them might have made reconciliation harder between the two. Discussing the potential meeting between Napheesa Collier and Cathy Engelbert, Ben Pickman, and Sabreena Merchant of the No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show had some interesting thoughts.
Ben Pickman said, “By Cathy Engelbert saying that she never said what Napheesa Collier said about Caitlin Clark, you’re basically calling Napheesa Collier a liar. And that sets up for another tense meeting. Not that it wasn’t going to be tense to begin with, considering Napheesa Collier said that Cathy Engelbert was the worst leader.”
The league and the players are already in a tussle over the CBA. Neither side wants to give up to their demands. But things took an ugly turn when Collier blasted the league boss with a series of allegations, apart from finances. “Do you know who I haven’t heard from? Cathy. Not one call, not one text. Instead, the only outreach has come from her No. 2, telling my agent that she doesn’t believe physical play is contributing to injuries. That is infuriating, and it’s the perfect example of the tone deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take.”
In her defense, all that the commissioner could do was play on the safe lines: denial. Now it seems that Cathy Engelbert’s denial of any comments made regarding Catilin Clark seems to have backfired. According to recent reports, Napheesa Collier has called off the meeting that was scheduled to take place! During her press conference before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Cathy Engelbert had said that the comments made by Napheesa Collier in her exit interview, including the one regarding CC, were riddled with ‘inaccuracies’.
