Cathy Engelbert doesn\u2019t communicate well with the players of the WNBA. She doesn\u2019t text the current women in the workforce on their birthdays, nor acknowledge the O.G.s on their retirements. Mostly, she doesn\u2019t reach out when they feel under attack from the cretins crawling about social media. Some of the WNBA\u2019s biggest stars say they have no relationship with Engelbert. To put it succinctly, she\u2019s not a good hang.<\/p>\n
When she does open up, though, Engelbert can come across as dodgy. When asked straight-to-the-point, no-fluff questions, she breaks out her best Neo, dodging those kinds of direct inquiries from reporters as though they\u2019re bullets from Agent Smith. In a nutshell, her interpersonal skills suck.<\/p>\n
Yet for all that Engelbert lacks in warmth, she seems to be doing the one thing that she\u2019s paid to do well. And that\u2019s to be the commissioner of a major, growing and prosperous professional sports league. It\u2019s time to stop adding new and superfluous job requirements to the job description for \u201cWNBA commissioner.\u201d Neither Engelbert nor anyone who might replace her can live up to the touchy-feely standards some people have placed upon this position.<\/p>\n
Put another way:<\/p>\n
The league doesn\u2019t need a change at the top. However, players, stakeholders and fans of the W need to change their expectations.<\/p>\n
Engelbert might never master how to effectively dap and tuck it in like NBA commissioner Adam Silver expertly knows how to greet his players. Instead, she does expertly provide cover to a group of team owners \u2014 you know, her employers \u2014 who largely remain out of the crosshairs of criticism. (Shouldn\u2019t team owner Mat Ishbia have received questions about the support he provided Phoenix Mercury players when they faced online attacks?)<\/p>\n
Engelbert might never bear-hug a draft pick the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell does so affectionately every April. However, she did help corral a media rights deal that has soared past $3 billion, money generated from several broadcast partners such as Disney, USA Sports and NBC Universal. (Such has been the growth of the league that the 16 percent stake sale she made in 2022, when the league needed an infusion of cash, now looks like a raw deal.)<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t ever, ever expect her to invite an enemy \u2014 I mean, a reporter \u2014 over to her personal residence, the way NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has.<\/a> Engelbert, however, oversaw the approval of a new collective bargaining agreement and a revenue share \u2014 the first of its kind in women\u2019s professional sport \u2014 that is projected to provide upwards of $1 billion in player salaries and benefits over the next seven years.<\/p>\n Engelbert might never be considered as chill, down for the cause, or the kind of boss the players would want to sit down with and sip a \u201cStud Bud\u201d cocktail<\/a>. But last we checked, the WNBA is booming. The average WNBA salary has risen 450 percent under her watch, from roughly $130,000 in 2020 to $600,000 now. If money is the marker for progress \u2014 and yes, in professional sports, money is always the main thing \u2014 then she\u2019s doing her job. As much as it pains me to admit.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve rolled my eyes at the many missteps of Engelbert. Why couldn\u2019t she just condemn the racism leveled at Angel Reese and other players during that 2024 CNBC interview, rather than praise the television ratings? Why did she, according to Napheesa Collier, act defensive about the blatantly poor officiating by calling players who complain \u201closers\u201d? Why\u2019d she have to insult her audience at the start of this season by bringing up her gender when asked a fair question about her job performance? Ugh.<\/p>\n Messaging is part of her job description, and she\u2019s not exceptionally good at that. This tracks with one of the biggest complaints against Engelbert. She doesn\u2019t talk enough with players.<\/p>\n