- Collier said Engelbert has not reached out since the runner-up for MVP was injured in Game 3 of the semifinals.
- Engelbert said: Caitlin Clark should be grateful to make $16 million off the court because without the WNBA, she wouldn’t make anything.
- Engelbert also said players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that she got them.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is calling out WNBA leadership.
In her end of season media availability on Tuesday following the Lynx’s 86-81 Game 4 semifinal loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, Collier openly criticized WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the ‘tone-deaf and dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take’ in governing the league.
‘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 said in a prepared statement on Tuesday. ‘The real threat to our league isn’t money, it isn’t ratings or even missed calls or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.’
Collier’s comments come two days after the Lynx were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs by the Mercury in Game 4 of the semifinals, an elimination game Minnesota played without Collier, who suffered a left ankle injury in Game 3, and head coach Cheryl Reeve, who served a one-game suspension for blasting ‘awful’ officiating after and for her conduct following her ejection in Game 3.
GAME 4: Phoenix Mercury eliminate Minnesota Lynx, advance to WNBA Finals
Collier said she fully expects to be fined for her remarks. ‘It seems like anything with free speech will be fined now,’ she said, alluding to a string of fines levied in the postseason alone. Reeve was reportedly fined $15K for her Game 3 remarks and behavior, while Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White were each fined $1K for their public support of Reeve.
‘Our leadership’s answer to being held accountable is to suppress everyone’s voices by handing out fines,’ Collier said. ‘I’m not concerned about a fine, I’m concerned about the future of our sport
‘Fans see it every night, coaches both winning and losing, pointed out every night in pregame and postgame media. Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the other way.’
USA TODAY Sports reached out to the WNBA for comment and received this statement for Engelbert.
“I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA. Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league. My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game. I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”
Napheesa Collier: The WNBA ‘doesn’t value us’
Collier, who currently serves as the WNBPA vice president, said she decided to publicly air her grievances after repeated concerns she voiced directly to Engelbert went ignored.
‘I finally grown tired. For far too long, I have tried to have these conversations in private, but it’s clear there is no intention of accepting there’s a problem,’ Collier said. ‘The league has made it clear it isn’t about innovation, it isn’t about collaboration, it’s about control and power.’
Collier recalled a specific conversation she had with Engelbert about WNBA officiating back in February during the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league co-founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart.
‘I sat across from Cathy (Engelbert) and asked how she planned to address the officiating issues in our league. Her response was, ‘Well, only the losers complained about the refs,” Collier said.
Collier said Engelbert also had a cavalier attitude toward the ongoing CBA negotiations and player salary, noting, ‘We go to battle every day to protect a shield that doesn’t value us.’
‘I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin (Clark), Angel (Reese) and Paige (Bueckers), who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years. Her response was, ‘Caitlin (Clark) should be grateful to make $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”
Collier continued: ‘In that same conversation she told me players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them. That’s mentality driving our league from the top … The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them.’
Napheesa Collier: WNBA leaders are ‘tone-deaf, dismissive’
Collier revealed Engelbert hasn’t reached out to her this year, including after she suffered a left ankle injury in the chaotic closing minutes of the Lynx’s Game 3 loss to the Mercury, further highlighting the divide between league leadership and its players.
‘I have the privilege of watching my husband (Alex Bazzell) run (Unrivaled) where he has to balance a hundred different things at once. I won’t pretend the job is easy, but even with all of that on his plate, he always takes the time to reach out to players when he sees an injury, whether it’s Unrivaled or even during the WNBA season,’ Collier said, referring to Bazzell, who serves as the president of Unrivaled.
‘That is what leadership looks like,’ she continued. ‘It’s the human element, it’s basic integrity and it’s the bare minimum any leader should embody. This year alone, I’ve gotten calls, texts, and well wishes from so many players across the league. Those moments remind me that sometimes there are things bigger than the results than this game we play.’
‘But do you know who I haven’t heard from? Cathy (Engelbert). Not one call, not one text. Instead, the only outreach has come from her No. 2 two 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,’ Collier added.
Collier said she suffered a ‘couple torn ligaments’ and a ‘torn shin muscle’ in her left ankle and wouldn’t have been available to play if the Lynx did push a decisive Game 5 against the Mercury. Collier made it clear, however, that her statement was not about winning or losing, it was about ‘something much bigger.’
‘Since I’ve been in the league, you’ve heard the constant concerns about officiating and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plagues our sport and undermining integrity in which it operates,’ she said. ‘Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is a lack of accountability from our leaders.’
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