Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert do not appear to be mending fences anytime soon. One day after Engelbert said she planned to sit down with Collier, the forward has reportedly canceled her meeting with the commissioner, per Kendra Andrews and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

Tensions between Engelbert and the players have been simmering all season amid ongoing CBA negotiations. But things hit a boiling point last week when Collier used her end-of-season press conference to read a scathing statement about the WNBA front office.

Advertisement

In a press conference Friday, Engelbert said she was “disheartened” to hear Collier’s comments, but vowed to “do better.” She also said she had spoken with Collier via text message, and she planned to meet with her next week after the start of the WNBA Finals. At the time, Engelbert admitted she and Collier had not made any set plans.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

Per ESPN, Engelbert’s press conference “pretty much pushed the relationship beyond repair.”

Collier did not pull punches in her statement, accusing the league front office and the commissioner of not caring about the league’s players. Collier outlined multiple private conversations with Engelbert, saying the commissioner had told her “players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars” for the current media rights deal, and that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark should be “grateful” for the WNBA’s platform.

Advertisement

As a league veteran, Collier’s words already have plenty of sway. But the 29-year-old is also a co-founder of the revolutionary 3-on-3 league Unrivaled, a league with a number of WNBA players that has been at odds with the WNBA in its own right since the inaugural season last year.

“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. If I didn’t know exactly what the job entailed, maybe I wouldn’t feel this way. But unfortunately for them, I do,” Collier said.

Engelbert’s response was largely to debunk some (though not all) of Collier’s points. For one, Engelbert said she “obviously” did not make the comment about Clark. But she also spoke personally about the backlash.

“I’m a human too, I have a family, I have two kids who are devastated by these comments,” Engelbert said. “It’s obviously been a tough week.”

Collier suffered a major ankle injury during Game 3 of the semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury and later was diagnosed with a torn ligament and torn muscle. In her statement last week, Collier also addressed inconsistent officiating — a sticking point for players throughout the season — in addition to her frustrations with the WNBA front office.

Advertisement

Minnesota went on to lose to the Mercury in Game 4, as Phoenix returned to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2021.