\n With the collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and its players set to expire at the end of this month, the timing of this dispute futher complicates an already tenuous dynamic between the players union and the league.\n <\/p>\n
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\n One of the biggest targets of Collier\u2019s ire was perceived inconsistent officiating in the WNBA.\n <\/p>\n
\n Engelbert said Friday that the league and the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association continue to meet and negotiate with the hopes of avoiding a work stoppage. Along with that, Engelbert said she will meet with Collier next week.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe league has a buzzword that they\u2019ve rolled out as talking points for the CBA as to why they can\u2019t give the players what we\u2019re worth. That word is sustainability,\u201d Collier said. \u201cBut what\u2019s truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cFans see it every night. Coaches, both winning and losing, point it out every night in pregame and postgame media. Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the other way. They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is negligence.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Collier\u2019s comments came in the wake of an ankle injury sustained on a physical play that knocked her out of the Lynx\u2019s semifinal series against the Mercury. Her coach Cheryl Reeve was later suspended after postgame comments criticizing the officiating in that game.\n <\/p>\n
\n Engelbert said Friday that the league would establish a new task force with players\u2019 and other stakeholders\u2019 involvement to help WNBA officiating \u201cevolve in step with the growth of the league\u201d with the aim to \u201censure player safety and exciting competition.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Also in her remarks Tuesday, Collier said that in February, she met with Engelbert and brought up the pay disparity between veterans and new players in the league.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin (Clark), Angel (Reese) and Paige (Bueckers), who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years,\u201d Collier said.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHer response was, \u2018Caitlin should be grateful she made $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn\u2019t make anything.\u2019\n <\/p>\n
\n \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 Collier continued.\n <\/p>\n
\n When asked directly about those comments alleged by Collier, Englebert said Friday she was again \u201cdisheartened\u201d with what she described as \u201ca lot of inaccuracy about what I said or didn\u2019t say.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cObviously I did not make those comments, the commissioner said speaking specifically about Collier\u2019s description of Engelbert\u2019s statement regarding Clark.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cCaitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She\u2019s been a great representative of the game She\u2019s brought tens of millions of fans to the game.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
![\"Caitlin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gettyimages-2233456303.jpg\")
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\n Clark, who has missed most of the 2025 season with injury, addressed Collier\u2019s dressing down of WNBA leadership at a press conference on Thursday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI have great respect for Phee, and I think she made a lot of very valid points,\u201d Clark said at her Indiana Fever exit interview. \u201cI think what people need to understand: We need great leadership in this time across all levels.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis is straight up the most important moment in this league\u2019s history. This league has been around for 25-plus years, and this is a moment we have to capitalize on.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The arrival of Clark and other high-profile young players have contributed to a boom in popularity for the long-struggling league.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cEverybody that\u2019s in a place of power has a responsibility, and even myself,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe have a responsibility to make sure that this game is in a great place going forward with the CBA, and caring for our players and building this league to make sure it\u2019s in a great spot for many years to come.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Clark\u2019s teammate Sophie Cunningham, whose season was also cut short due to injury, was more uncouth during her exit interview Thursday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI think that there a lot of people in the position of power in the WNBA,\u201d Cunninghamd said. \u201cThey might be really great business people, but they don\u2019t know sh*t about basketball, and that\u2019s got to change.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Following Engelbert\u2019s presser, there was still a game to be played and it turned into a thriller at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Nevada on Friday.\n <\/p>\n
\n In the first half, it looked like Mercury forward Kahleah Copper was going to prove to be too much to handle for Las Vegas.\n <\/p>\n
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