NEED TO KNOW
\nNapheesa Collier is speaking outIn a four-minute-plus prepared statement, the WNBA All-Star addressed the “lack of accountability from the league office” regarding its officiating”They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is negligence,” Collier said <\/p>\n
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier<\/a> has a scathing message for the WNBA\u2019s leadership.\n<\/p>\n Two days after being eliminated in the playoffs \u2014 and four days after tearing ligaments in her ankle on a non-call that rendered her unavailable for game 4 \u2014 Collier addressed the media<\/a> in a four-minute-plus-long prepared statement in which she called out WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert by name, criticized the league\u2019s inability to fix its ongoing officiating issues and said the WNBA has \u201cthe worst leadership in the world.\u201d\n<\/p>\n “Let me be clear: This conversation is not about winning or losing,\u201d Collier, 29, began, after congratulating the Phoenix Mercury for their series win over the Lynx. \u201cIt’s about something much bigger. The real threat to our league isn’t money, it isn’t ratings, or even missed calls or physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The All-Star forward continued, \u201cSince I’ve been in the league, you’ve heard the constant concerns about officiating, and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates. Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing. But to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Napheesa Collier.<\/p>\n AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin<\/p>\n Collier went on to share that she has had private conversations with Engelbert about the league\u2019s officiating issues.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHer response was, \u2018Only the losers complain about the refs,\u2019 \u201d Collier said.\n<\/p>\n The UConn standout continued\u00a0that when players do speak out about officiating, \u201cleadership just issues fines and looks the other way.”\n<\/p>\n \u201cThey ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is negligence,” she added.\n<\/p>\n The Lynx star, who finished second in MVP voting to A’ja Wilson<\/a>, then shared that she advocated for Caitlin Clark<\/a>, Angel Reese<\/a> and Paige Bueckers<\/a>, telling Engelbert that they \u201care making so little for their first four years.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cHer response was, \u2018Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn\u2019t make anything,\u2019 \u201d Collier recalled. \u201cIn that same conversation, she told me \u2018Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.\u2019 \u201d\n<\/p>\n Collier continued, \u201cThat\u2019s the mentality driving our league from the top. We go to battle every day to protect a shield that doesn\u2019t value us.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n While she shared that she heard from others, including teammates and players, who reached out in the wake of her injury on Friday night, she didn\u2019t hear from the commissioner.\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou know who I haven\u2019t heard from? Cathy,\u201d Collier said. \u201cNot one call, not one text. Instead, the only outreach has come from her No. 2 telling my agent that she doesn\u2019t believe physical play is contributing to injuries. That is infuriating and it\u2019s the perfect example of a tone-deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Collier said she has previously tried to \u201chave these conversations in private,\u201d but on Tuesday, she said she had to speak out because the league had \u201cno intention of accepting there’s a problem.”\n<\/p>\n Engelbert said in a statement Tuesday, shared with PEOPLE, that she was “disheartened” by Collier’s comments.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA. Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league. My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game. I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Collier ended her comments Tuesday with a direct call out to Engelbert and her staff.\n<\/p>\n “We have the best players in the world, We have the best fans in the world,” she said. “But right now, we have the worst leadership in the world.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEED TO KNOW Napheesa Collier is speaking outIn a four-minute-plus prepared statement, the WNBA All-Star addressed the “lack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-193060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}