WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert: ‘There’s a lot of inaccuracy out there’

Napheesa Collier, a perennial WNBA All-Star and one of the faces of the league, blew the doors off things earlier this week when she read a four-minute-long prepared statement revealing private conversations with commissioner Cathy Engelbert and drawing a line between her injury and the players’ ongoing negotiations with owners on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The two most notable aspects of Collier’s statement were quotes attributed to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who allegedly told her that Caitlin Clark should be grateful to the league for how it’s elevated her and that WNBA players “should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars” for the current media rights deal.

“I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin, Angel, and Paige, 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.”

Since then, there has been considerable speculation that Engelbert is likely to step down after the CBA is finalized. Clark has also come forward and thrown her support behind Collier, while current and former WNBA stars have criticized the league’s leadership and called out Engelbert. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith even called for her to resign.

As the WNBA Finals were about to get underway Friday night, Engelbert met with the media for the first time since all of this went down. ESPN’s Malika Andrews asked Engelbert directly if she had indeed said what Collier claimed regarding how WNBA players should be on their knees thanking her. She offered a winding response about “inaccuracy.”

“I’m just obviously disheartened. You know, I’m a human, too. I have a family. I have two kids who are devastated by these comments. All I’ll say is it’s obviously been a tough week, and I just think there’s a lot of inaccuracy out there.” – WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert pic.twitter.com/rUjdGrpKjJ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 3, 2025

“There’s a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all this reporting,” said Engelbert. “And so what I think is most helpful is to focus on… I have been in touch with Napheesa. We’ve exchanged texts. We’re talking next week. Obviously, a lot of reporting, a lot of inaccuracy about what I said or what I didn’t say. And I will tell you that I highly respect the players. There’s a lot of emotion and passion going on right now cause we’re in collective bargaining, we’re in the WNBA Finals, and so I’ll leave it there.

“I’m just obviously disheartened. You know, I’m a human, too. I have a family. I have two kids who are devastated by these comments. And so all I’ll say is it’s obviously been a tough week, and I just think there’s a lot of inaccuracy out there.”

What Engelbert didn’t do, for what it’s worth, was deny that she said what Collier claims she said. She also didn’t clarify what the specific “inaccuracy” she’s referring to is.

Later, she was asked about her alleged comments about Caitlin Clark, which she denied saying more adamantly.

“Obviously, I did not make those comments,” said Engelbert. “Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game. I’m proud of what’s she put on the court. Unfortunately, the injuries held her back from a full season this year. But again, I’m not gonna get into every point-counterpoint, it’s not productive here. We’re here to celebrate the WNBA Finals…

“As I said, there’s a lot of inaccuracies reported out there and I certainly did not say that.”

Engelbert seems to know enough not to accuse Collier of being a liar directly. However, she seems to be hoping she can thread the needle by saying the reporting around Collier’s comments is “inaccurate.” We imagine that many people will see through that tactic, and it’s likely that whatever bridges have been burned in recent weeks will not be rebuilt, aside from CBA negotiations.