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Misguided as that is, it stands as just another missed opportunity for a league that continues to be the leagues leader in missed opportunities. And with each passing misstep — no chance you missed the scathing rebuke of league leadership by star player Napheesa Collier — it’s increasingly obvious commissioner Cathy Engelbert is part of the problem rather than the part of the solution. As much as Engelbert has overseen massive growth since her 2019 hiring, metrics such as attendance, media deals, merchandise sales, and television ratings can do nothing to measure trust.
And that, it seems, is irreparably broken.
The knockout blow from Collier was this line from the prepared statement she read aloud following the end of her near-MVP season: “We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world, but right now we have the worst leadership in the world.”
Collier, who was injured by yet another bruisingly physical collision that sidelined her for the Lynx’s final elimination game, then used her exit interview to go scorched earth. She shared concerns and frustrations she said date back for months, ones she feels have gone unanswered or worse, ignored, by league leadership. From the subpar officiating that continues to plague players who strongly believe it has contributed to rising injuries to the ongoing contention over how the continually rising revenues are not reaching the players’ pockets, Collier put voice to what many of her colleagues believe, as evidenced by the overwhelming support she received from fellow players.
She lifted the lid and let some steam escape. But this full boil has been a long time coming. The WNBA, and in turn the NBA, whose commissioner Adam Silver is officially Engelbert’s boss and whose league wants, above all, to protect its financial stake in a product it has subsidized for decades and now wants to benefit from, have to figure it out. With an Oct. 31 deadline for the collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and its players association to expire, Engelbert, and by extension Silver, need to address that deepening chasm of distrust.
At a recent press event about NBC returning to NBA coverage, Silver tried to mediate. “The WNBA is experiencing some growth pains and at the same time, Cathy Engelbert has presided over six years of some of the strongest growth we’ve not only seen in the WNBA but any sports league in history,” he said.
“But,” he added, “it’s become too personal and we’re going to have to work through those issues.”
It’s become too personal because it is personal. The WNBA players, from breakout stars of today such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston or Veronica Burton, to those who’ve around for years, such as Collier, her Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart, or three-time MVP A’ja Wilson, all the way back to foundational stars such as Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi or original star Lisa Leslie, have always valued and prioritized empowerment and advocacy. They are determined to keep their voices at the forefront, especially as outside interest continues to grow.
Yet here was Engelbert, meeting reporters in Las Vegas before the first-ever best-of-seven WNBA Finals began (yet another sign of the growth and legitimacy in this, the league’s 29th season), falling back on the same brand of corporate speak that helped get us here in the first place. My ears are still hurting from this answer about officiating:
“Referees and their work serve the game. That service at the highest level requires alignment with its stakeholders to perform and be held accountable to that performance based on that alignment.
“I think it’s pretty clear that we’re misaligned currently on what our stakeholders want from officiating. We have heard loud and clear that we have not lived up to that alignment and attention, and change is needed to serve the WNBA to the level of excellence that is not currently being met in the various stakeholders’ eyes.
“There are no greater stakeholders than our players. Their voice is integral to the alignment that is required for good officiating. We look forward to including their perspectives on how our staff can better serve the game moving forward.”
She could have just said, “It needs to get better.”
I couldn’t help but think back to September 2024, when Engelbert fumbled yet another chance to back her stakeholders, er, players, when asked during a CNBC interview about racist or sexist harassment from fans, turning her answer into business speak about how that sort of animus has an upside of fueling rivalries. Or back to her season-ending 2024 comments, when she failed to mention the transcendent Clark by name, despite the obvious influence Clark has had on every aspect of the league’s growth.
Or back to Collier’s scathing statement, when she said Engelbert told her first, that Clark “should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything” and second, that all “players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.” Talk about tone deaf.
With greater visibility comes greater scrutiny. Right now, Engelbert is failing the test.
Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at tara.sullivan@globe.com. Follow her @Globe_Tara.
