Earlier this week, WNBA superstar Napheesa Collier made headlines after she unloaded on the league’s leadership and commissioner Cathy Engelbert during a press conference, declaring that the league has “the worst leadership in the world,” adding to a chorus of players and coaches calling out the league’s leadership. The league’s biggest star, Caitlin Clark, had been silent on the discourse, but that’s no longer the case.
On Thursday, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark spoke publicly for the first time since All-Star weekend, and she quickly offered her support for Collier as she added her voice to those criticizing the league’s leadership by affirming that her fellow WNBA star’s points were “very valid.”
“I think what people need to understand, we need great leadership in this time, across all levels,” Clark said via the Associated Press. “This is straight up, the most important moment in this league’s history. This league’s been around 25 years, and this is a moment we have to capitalize on. Phee said it all with what she said, and I think the points she made were very valid.”
During Collier’s lengthy tirade against the league’s leadership, she exposed some private conversations with Engelbert, some of which made specific reference to Clark.
“I 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. Her response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything,’” Collier said.
“In that same conversation, she told me players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them. That’s the mentality driving our league from the top. We go to battle every day to protect a shield that doesn’t value us. The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them.”
A few hours after Collier’s four-minute tirade against the league’s leadership, Engelbert released her own statement in which she said she has the “utmost respect” for Collier but was “disheartened” by how her conversations had been characterized.
Clark said on Thursday that she had not previously heard about Collier’s conversations with Engelbert and had not spoken with Engelbert since Collier’s comments.
It goes without saying that Clark is the most prominent and influential voice in the league. While she obviously did not offer specific criticisms herself and was certainly not as blunt as her fellow WNBA star, her support and validation of Collier’s criticisms speaks volumes.
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