{"id":333789,"date":"2025-12-09T04:08:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T04:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/333789\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T04:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T04:08:04","slug":"worst-leadership-in-the-world-says-wnba-player-in-drama-overshadowing-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/333789\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Worst leadership in the world,’ says WNBA player in drama overshadowing finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA\u00a0finals start Friday<\/a>, but it’s not the matchup\u00a0between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury\u00a0that\u00a0has basketball fans talking.<\/p>\n

It’s the\u00a0matchup\u00a0between Minnesota Lynx’s five-times All-Star\u00a0Napheesa Collier and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after Collier ripped into the WNBA’s leadership<\/a> in a post-season media conference Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Collier,\u00a0a vice president with the WNBA players’ union and co-founder of off-season 3×3 basketball league\u00a0Unrivaled<\/a>, accused the WNBA\u00a0of a “tone-deaf, dismissive” approach to players. In her four-minute speech, Collier blasted Engelbert\u00a0for being “negligent” in her governance.<\/p>\n

“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 Tuesday.<\/p>\n

“[Officiating]\u00a0has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates,”\u00a0Collier\u00a0told reporters. “They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed \u2014 that is negligence.”<\/p>\n

Engelbert has since released a statement<\/a> that she’s “disheartened” by Collier’s characterizations, and has the “utmost respect” for her and all WNBA players. But\u00a0fans are flooding social media<\/a> with calls for Engelbert, who became the league’s commissioner in 2019, to be fired.<\/p>\n

“You’re a disgrace,” wrote one fan on X<\/a>, as others told her<\/a> to “pack your bags.”<\/p>\n

The players, meanwhile, also appear to be backing Collier.<\/p>\n

\"AA screenshot of an Instagram post on the WNBPA’s official account from Tuesday supporting Collier. (@wnbpa\/Instagram)<\/p>\n

“I’m going to ride with Phee always,” said Aces star and MVP A’ja Wilson<\/a>\u00a0in response.<\/p>\n

“Phee speaks for me,” Seattle Storm forward and\u00a0WNBPA president\u00a0Nneka Ogwumike posted on X.<\/a><\/p>\n

“When Phee speaks, people listen. We are confident that her words today speak to the feelings and experiences of many, if not most or all of our members,” the WNBA players association posted in a statement on Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n

But how did we even get here? What exactly is the issue? Let’s back up.<\/p>\n

WATCH |\u00a0Napheesa Collier blasts WNBA leadership:\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

WNBA has ‘the worst leadership in the world,’ WNBA union official says <\/p>\n

Hear an excerpt from Napheesa Collier, a player with the Minnesota Lynx, WNBA union rep and co-founder of a 3-on-3 basketball league, as she calls out commissioner Cathy Engelbert over league leadership.Coach goes ‘scorched earth’ after Collier injury<\/p>\n

Collier’s comments came after the Lynx’s Game 3 semi-final game against the Mercury on Friday, during which Collier\u00a0suffered an ankle injury as Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas stole the ball in the final minute of play.\u00a0Thomas wasn’t called for a foul.<\/p>\n

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve launched into an expletive-laden tirade against game officials after the incident. Or, to quote Sports Illustrated<\/a>, she went “scorched earth.”<\/p>\n

She pursued and berated a game official on the court, was slow to leave after her ejection with 21.8 seconds remaining, directed profanity toward fans while exiting and later launched into a blistering critique of the league’s officiating in her post-game press conference.<\/p>\n

“I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating. It’s bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semi-finals playoff worthy is f–king malpractice,” Reeve said in the press conference.<\/p>\n

The WNBA slapped her with a one-game suspension and a league record $15,000 US fine. Then, the Lynx were\u00a0eliminated from the playoffs\u00a0on Sunday in a Game 4 that Collier missed with her ankle injury and\u00a0Reeve\u00a0missed because\u00a0she was suspended.<\/p>\n

\"AReeve is held back after being ejected during game three against the Phoenix Mercury of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena on Sept. 26. (Rick Scuteri\/Imagn Images\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Collier said she never heard from Engelbert about the call\u00a0or her injury.<\/p>\n

“Not one call, not one text. Instead, the only outreach has come from her No. 2 telling my agent that she doesn’t believe physical play contributed to injuries. That is infuriating,” Collier said.<\/p>\n

“It’s the perfect example of the tone deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take.”<\/p>\n

Engelbert was also called out by players back in 2024 for not taking a stronger stand against hate speech<\/a> and social media vitriol as players faced racist and misogynistic comments, USA Today reports.<\/a><\/p>\n

Comments also come during negotiations<\/p>\n

The remarks also come amid\u00a0increasingly acrimonious\u00a0collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations between the league and players.\u00a0The current CBA\u00a0is set to expire on October 31.<\/p>\n

The two sides have been at odds over player pay, the\u00a0union said\u00a0in July, with young stars like Caitlin Clark driving new interest in the league and a new media rights deal kicking in next season.<\/p>\n

“[Engelbert]\u00a0told me ‘Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them’,” Collier said Tuesday. “That’s the mentality driving our league from the top.”<\/p>\n

Engelbert did not address the specific comments Collier said she made in the private conversation, only saying that “perspectives differ.”<\/p>\n

Women’s basketball has experienced\u00a0a\u00a0dramatic rise in popularity<\/a>\u00a0over the last few years, between the emergence of superstar\u00a0players like Clark, the\u00a0expansion of the WNBA<\/a>, and a surge in\u00a0March Madness viewership.<\/a>\u00a0But salaries remain a sore point<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TwoEngelbert poses with Collier following the 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

For instance,the\u00a0WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick<\/a>\u00a0Paige Bueckers was projected to earn just\u00a0$78,831 US for her rookie year \u2014 about $109,480 Cdn, or\u00a0less than the real median household income in the States.<\/a>\u00a0The No. 1 draft pick for the NBA, by comparison, can expect to earn\u00a0$13.8\u00a0million US in his rookie year, according to\u00a0sports salary reporting site Spotrac.<\/a><\/p>\n

Many\u00a0players supplement\u00a0their incomes playing overseas during the off-season, an issue recently highlighted when WNBA player Brittney Griner was\u00a0detained<\/a>\u00a0in Russia\u00a0on drug-related charges that ended with a prisoner swap.<\/p>\n

In July, the WNBPA admonished the league just ahead of the all-star\u00a0game, saying the WNBA had failed to address their priorities.\u00a0Ogwumike, the WNBPA president,\u00a0told reporters at the time\u00a0that they were celebrating amazing growth, but\u00a0“it’s not lost on us that we’re living the growth as we’re negotiating our worth.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The fans know what we’re worth. Now we need the league to know what we are worth.”<\/p>\n

Many of the players warmed up for the\u00a0WNBA all-star game in shirts that read “Pay us what you owe us.”<\/p>\n

WATCH | The women’s sports movement:\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Women’s sports aren’t just having a moment, they’re having a movement<\/p>\n

From the launches of the PWHL and the NSL, to the smashing success of the WNBA in recent years, women’s sports have become big business.