Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier calls out WNBA Credit: Minnesota Lynx
By Brendon Kleen on

Napheesa Collier, a perennial WNBA All-Star and one of the faces of the league, spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday after suffering a severe injury in Game 3 of the semifinals last week in Phoenix.

In a four minute-long prepared statement at the team’s arena, Collier continued her head coach Cheryl Reeve’s onslaught against leadership in the league office, 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.

“I want to be clear this conversation is not about winning or losing. It’s about something much bigger,” Collier began.

“The real threat to our league isn’t money. It isn’t ratings, or even missed calls, or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability in the league office. Since 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 with 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. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is a lack of accountability from our leaders.”

Collier is not only a vice president of the WNBPA and a perennial MVP candidate for Minnesota, but also one of the co-founders of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 winter women’s hoops league that launched earlier this year through significant investment from top athletes and entrepreneurs as well as TNT Sports.

Continuing her statement, Collier described hearing remarkably dismissive comments from Engelbert when the two met in Miami during the Unrivaled season.

“At Unrivaled this past February, I sat across from Cathy and asked how she planned to address the officiating issues in our league. Her response was, ‘Well only the losers complain about the refs,'” Collier said.

Last WNBA season when Collier and her Lynx narrowly lost a Finals that went down to the wire and featured numerous controversial foul calls, Reeve blamed the officiating for the loss.

Collier went on to reveal that Engelbert also dismissed the widely discussed push for young stars like Caitlin Clark to make more money on their rookie contracts going forward.

“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.”

Collier explained that like Reeve last Friday night in Phoenix, she decided to go to extreme lengths because she has lost belief that WNBA leadership will listen to typical conversation.

“The league has made it clear it is not about innovation, it is not about collaboration. It is about control and power,” she added, noting she is “not worried” about being fined for her comments. “I have earned this platform and I have paid the price to get here. And now I have a responsibility to speak on behalf of the fans and everyone in this league that deserves better.”

In closing, Collier called WNBA leadership the worst “in the world.” And she again called out her deep understanding of league operations as a co-founder of Unrivaled and spouse of its commissioner, Alex Bazzell.

Collier stated that her intention was to treat Engelbert and other league leaders the same way that she believes the league treats stars such as her.

“We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But right now, we have the worst leadership in the world,” she said.

“If I didn’t know exactly what the job entailed, maybe I wouldn’t feel this way. But unfortunately for them, I do. We serve a league that has shown they think championship coaches and Hall of Fame players are dispensable. That’s fine, it’s professional sports. But I will not stand quietly by and allow different standards to be applied at the league level.”

Shortly after Collier’s remarks, Engelbert released a statement of her own.

“I 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,” the statement read.

Notably, Engelbert did not deny making the comments that Collier alleged.

About Brendon Kleen

Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.

View all posts by Brendon Kleen