The WNBA Finals concluded last week with the crowning of a new dynasty: The Las Vegas Aces took home their third title in four years. But the undercurrent of the series — and the entire playoffs — was one of high stakes and tension. And it might intensify as the league undergoes one of its most challenging offseasons ever.<\/p>\n
The WNBA has enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years, with attendance, ratings, investment and franchise valuations all reaching new heights. But how all of that translates into lasting, transformational change is the question with which the league, its players and other stakeholders are grappling with.<\/p>\n
The WNBA and WNBPA are amid negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, and the possibility of a work stoppage looms. Cathy Engelbert\u2019s future as commissioner is in question after Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier ripped WNBA leadership as \u201cthe worst … in the world\u201d in an explosive exit interview. And all eyes will be on how the league responds to major concerns over officiating after it came to a head in the postseason.<\/p>\n
ESPN surveyed an array of WNBA team owners, executives, players and other industry sources on what the turmoil of the past few weeks — plus the impending CBA deadline on Oct. 31. — and what it all means as the league enters arguably the most important time in its history.<\/p>\n
\u2018Change is a must\u2019: Have WNBA owners lost faith in Engelbert?<\/p>\n
One of the lasting images of the WNBA season was Engelbert getting relentlessly booed by the crowd at Phoenix\u2019s Mortgage Matchup Center during the Aces\u2019 championship trophy presentation. A smaller group of fans continued the ruckus as she walked off the court and into a tunnel.<\/p>\n
Could that be the final time we see Engelbert serving as WNBA commissioner?<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you have that kind of fighting with your best players,\u201d one team executive told ESPN, \u201cit\u2019s a death spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tensions brewed throughout the WNBA season as players and coaches expressed frustration with officiating and as CBA negotiations intensified. But the conversation shifted specifically toward Engelbert during the WNBA semifinals.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 26, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected after erupting at the referees over a non-call on a play where Collier was injured. Reeve decried league officiating in a scathing postgame address and was fined and suspended one game.<\/p>\n
In her exit interview a few days after the Lynx were eliminated, Collier denounced WNBA leadership and publicized parts of previously private conversations she had with Engelbert. Collier claimed Engelbert said Caitlin Clark \u201cshould be grateful. She makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn\u2019t make anything\u201d and that \u201cplayers should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A swath of WNBA players publicly backed Collier. In her address to reporters before Game 1 of the Finals on Oct. 3, Engelbert said there were \u201ca lot of inaccuracies\u201d in comments attributed to her by Collier and denied saying the specific statement regarding Clark. But Engelbert acknowledged, \u201cIf the players in the W don\u2019t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the commissioner is primarily tasked with representing the owners, not the players, amid negotiations such as the CBA talks. But multiple team owners told ESPN they are also unhappy with Engelbert\u2019s leadership. \u201cIf I had a vote,\u201d one owner said, \u201cI would probably ask for a replacement.\u201d It seems unlikely that any major leadership change will happen while CBA negotiations continue, and Engelbert told reporters at the Finals she\u2019s \u201cnever been a quitter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you fire her now, it\u2019s admitting weakness. It\u2019s a terrible look for the NBA,\u201d another owner said. \u201cI can\u2019t stand what [Collier] did. That was a private conversation. It makes me not want to fire her, even though I think she should be fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frustration with Engelbert spans several areas: That issues brought to the commissioner and league office, such as officiating, are frequently left unresolved; that some of Engelbert\u2019s business decisions — such as the $75 million capital raise in 2022 that sold off a 16% stake in the league — might have complicated the WNBA\u2019s ownership structure and hamstrung the league from growing even more; and in how Engelbert interacts and communicates with others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Napheesa\u2019s comments,\u201d one of the aforementioned owners said. \u201cI think sometimes the approach of [Engelbert\u2019s] message hasn\u2019t always been delivered well. … Anytime there\u2019s been some challenges, whether it\u2019s a player side or even an ownership side as far as questioning things, there can be some of that derogatory tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cCBA negotiations and other negotiations are always hard, but it might not have been as confrontational, I think, if there was a little bit better dialogue and relationship building there. And I don\u2019t know at this stage if that\u2019s repairable or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Engelbert\u2019s role is different than in most major sports leagues because she also reports to NBA commissioner Adam Silver. When asked recently about the situation with Collier, Silver said Engelbert \u201chas presided over six years of some of the strongest growth we\u2019ve not only seen in the WNBA but any sports league in history. But it\u2019s become too personal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has done so much for the league commercially — people forget how bad it was when she got there,\u201d another industry insider said. \u201cHer time will end. I just think Adam is broken up by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the board, league sources who spoke with ESPN agree that if Engelbert wants to stay, she must rebuild relationships and establish trust with players.<\/p>\n
\u201cChange is a must,\u201d another team executive said. \u201cEither Cathy has to change how she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role. It can be worked out, but some things have to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CBA negotiations offer Engelbert a last chance to salvage her role.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a hot take world that you ask that right now and it\u2019s like, of course the answer is \u2018no\u2019 [Engelbert won\u2019t remain commissioner],\u201d another team executive said. \u201cBut if she can repair relationships with certain individuals — which you can, you always can — and you can get a good CBA done, then yeah I think she can [stay]. It\u2019s not going to be easy.<\/p>\n
\u201c… This CBA will be over in the next three to four to five months, so can you build momentum with them on a personal level and also the business level and if so, then there will be a real path forward.\u201d — Alexa Philippou<\/p>\n
\u2018A work stoppage doesn\u2019t benefit anybody\u2019: The state of CBA negotiations<\/p>\n
The disagreements and turmoil in the WNBA all seem to wind their way back to the collective bargaining agreement negotiations.<\/p>\n
The last CBA was agreed to in January 2020, when Engelbert had been on the job for about seven months. At that time, one of the current biggest sports stars in the country, the Indiana Fever\u2019s Clark, was a high school senior in Iowa. No one knew how much impact she would have on the league\u2019s finances and growth.<\/p>\n
Now, nearly six years later, the league and players\u2019 union must sign a new CBA for the 2026 season to take place. The current CBA expires Oct. 31, but that deadline is not absolute; both parties agreed to a 60-day extension ahead of the 2020 CBA, and that\u2019s expected to happen again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be done by Halloween,\u201d one WNBA source said. \u201c[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn\u2019t benefit anybody. I don\u2019t know exactly how far people are off. But generally when I\u2019ve seen these things, usually as it comes closer to crunch time, everybody kind of moves a little bit closer together, and we can get to a deal that\u2019s reasonable enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray told ESPN that negotiations are \u201cnot where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time. It\u2019s market share, it\u2019s salaries, it\u2019s player safety, it\u2019s everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the bigger sticking points appears to be revenue sharing and whether the players\u2019 percentage of that would stay static throughout the duration of the next CBA or grow during it.<\/p>\n
Fever forward Brianna Turner told ESPN that making charter flights, which were introduced for all WNBA travel near the start of the 2024 season, guaranteed in the new CBA is important, as is asking teams to continue paying for housing for players during the season. Turner believes roster sizes might also need to be increased (they are currently set at 12 players) and points to the Fever\u2019s five season-ending injuries this season as an example.<\/p>\n
One league source told ESPN that WNBA owners who are affiliated with NBA teams and those who aren\u2019t might have different priorities during CBA negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you have some teams that view it as enterprise level, meaning the appreciation of the teams and the growth of the league,\u201d the source said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll have some teams think about it like cash flow, and if I have this expense, what does it mean for my bottom line?<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times that comes down to how people think about their business — as an investment versus a true business on the day-to-day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another source said they expect the owners to be as unified in their negotiating as the players are.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are very important. No question,\u201d one league source said. \u201cBut what they don\u2019t understand is this league is still not that strong. It\u2019s got a long way to go. So you screw up the momentum right now, and you are messing with your livelihoods for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the players feel like they have heard those kinds of statements for too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no growth without the players,\u201d Gray said. \u201cSo why wouldn\u2019t we have something get done that the players are happy with?\u201d — Michael Voepel<\/p>\n
\u2018They are just not good enough\u2019: The WNBA\u2019s officiating crisis<\/p>\n
Coach Nate Tibbetts pinpointed all the things that went wrong on the court in his news conference following his Phoenix Mercury\u2019s Game 4 loss and WNBA Finals sweep. But as he sat at the podium after the decisive game last Friday, he had another gripe: the officiating. At the end of the third quarter, Tibbetts was assessed with two quick technical fouls, making him the first coach in WNBA history to be ejected in the Finals.<\/p>\n
Two of his players, Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner, were also given technical fouls in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s weak, weak, weak,\u201d Tibbetts said. \u201cWe were playing for our playoff lives. … I didn\u2019t feel like I deserved it at all. … It was bulls—.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been issues with officiating all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tibbetts\u2019 comments were a fitting conclusion for a season defined by officiating complaints and controversy. Players, coaches and executives across the league have flagged a lack of consistency by referees as well as the level of physicality allowed.<\/p>\n
A team executive said those are valid concerns, but some of the issues have deeper roots.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first issue with officiating is not the officials, it\u2019s that it\u2019s not resourced from the arenas we play in, to not having a replay center,\u201d they told ESPN. \u201cThat\u2019s a fundamental [resource], I think, that objectively needs to be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The executive pointed to the WNBA arenas in Dallas, Connecticut, Chicago and Atlanta as problems — those courts don\u2019t have the same technology and camera angles that other markets have that are viewed as crucial for calling a game correctly.<\/p>\n
The team executive also said there needs to be a Last Two Minute report like there is in the NBA to establish transparency and credibility with the officials, as well as a replay center to review calls in real time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t think [the WNBA] is as operational — both by resource and structure — and all of that leads to a lack of transparency, which leads to people thinking there is a lack of accountability,\u201d the team executive said.<\/p>\n
A league source told ESPN there is not an increased level of physical play, and that referees let the teams establish the level of physicality within which they want to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey innovate the game,\u201d the source said, \u201cand [the officials] just try to implement that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not everyone believes the physicality in the WNBA has increased much over the past five to 10 years, but a different league source said, \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s like the NBA in the 80s and 90s out there. When the Bad Boys beat the s— out of Michael Jordan, they had to change it. They got rid of handchecking. They got rid of a lot of stuff because people didn\u2019t want to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is also a cry for more resources to be put into training the officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are just not good enough,\u201d the team executive said. \u201cThey have to keep getting better and a lot of that comes from education and training. … They aren\u2019t trying to mess up, it\u2019s just a really hard job and the level of talent there isn\u2019t at the level it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
A league executive said all WNBA and NBA officials train in the G League and then choose between moving to the W or NBA. But according to an executive, refs tend to pick the NBA more often because of economics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey make more money. There are 82 games versus 42 games,\u201d the executive said. \u201cThat is part of what the W is trying to figure out — how do we make sure the level of talent is good across the board?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another source added: \u201cI hate to genderize it at all, but if you\u2019re being trained in the G League, marginal contact is going to look very different there than in a professional women\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n
A league source told ESPN that a three-pillar vetting process determines its officials. After a review of each ref by WNBA officials, a panel of independent reviewers examine the refs and their body of work. Coaches can also send feedback after every game via a WNBA text line. Every official also receives a midseason and end-of-season review.<\/p>\n
The WNBA will not punish — through fines or suspensions — officials for a singular error, but it instead assesses their body of work through the season. If there is a common string of mistakes, that is addressed, sources said. — Kendra Andrews <\/p>\n
Ramona Shelburne and Seth Wickersham contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBA Finals concluded last week with the crowning of a new dynasty: The Las Vegas Aces took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-219793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}