Much has been said about Napheesa Collier’s scathing criticism of the WNBA’s leadership group, headed by commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
In fact, many WNBA players and prominent media personalities, including ESPN star Stephen A. Smith, have expressed support for the Minnesota Lynx forward, who brought to light numerous issues that are keeping the league from truly reaching its potential.
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From the inconsistent and lax officiating to the way Engelbert is leading the league, Collier had a lot to get off her chest in a four-minute-long statement that she recently shared during her exit interview after her team lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA playoffs.
One WNBA legend who recently lent her voice to the conversation is Sue Bird, a four-time WNBA champion and 13-time champion. Although she couldn’t delve deeply into the matter since she’s part of the ownership group of the Seattle Storm, Bird said that, at times, speaking up in that way is necessary to effect true and lasting change.
Phee had enough
Much has been said about the WNBA’s officiating over the last few years. Superstars, coaches, legends and the media have all shared their thoughts. Apparently, all those opinions have fallen on deaf ears and Collier, who’s also the vice president of the WNBA Players Association, has had enough.
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While some point to the Lynx’s loss to the Mercury as a reason why Phee spoke up, Sue asserted that it’s much bigger than one game.
“What happened in Game 3 isn’t why Pheesa is talking about these things,” Bird said, referring to the play wherein the Lynx argued that Collier got fouled and even injured.
“Is it maybe like a tiny catalyst? Yes, it kind of brings it to the surface, but no. So much has been happening in our league over the last year, over the course of its history, to have a moment like that. It wasn’t just because of what happened in Game 3,” Bird clarified.
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As mentioned, Bird declined to speak about the incident or Collier’s comments, but shared that, based on her experience, players must speak their minds without fear or filter to truly be heard.
“What I can talk about is history. And history has shown that when players use their voice, change happens,” she stated.
WNBA has to address the officiating issue
Despite all the criticism and calls to improve officiating in the WNBA, league officials have been mum on the matter. In fact, Collier alleged that in her conversation with Engelbert about trying to improve the officiating, she merely responded:
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“Only the losers complain about the refs.”
And when confronted with this, Engelbert released a statement that Stephen A. described as “weak a—.”
ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco chimed in on the matter, saying that if the league genuinely wants to put out this raging fire, they must start by acknowledging that yes, there is a prevalent officiating issue.
“I think there probably should be some level of public acknowledgment from the league level. Whether it’s as high as the commissioner’s office, whether it’s from our officiating body, or whether it’s from competition committees — wherever,” he said.
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“I think it probably would go a long way to help the conversation, just to have some sort of public acknowledgment of: look, we’ve heard so many of the biggest voices in our game express their feelings this year about the way the gameplay is unfolding and we are going to give it a really thorough review and make sure we’re working in conjunction with our partners to try and find the best path forward,” he added.
The WNBA is in a good place.
With a brand new media deal and a crop of young superstars who are more than up to the challenge of carrying the league into the future, the WNBA has a lot to be excited about.
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However, any momentum they have amassed will come to an abrupt stop if they continue to ignore the growing calls for change in their gameplay.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.