The walls appear to be caving in on WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
With a player strike looming and the league's best talents in open revolt over their treatment at the hands of the ownership class, all is not well for Engelbert. She faced the fiercest of rebuke's earlier in the week during Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier's exit interview.
Collier, one of the sport's finest players and co-founder of competitor league Unrivaled, aired out the WNBPA's grievances with Engelbert in a historic polemic.
Collier cited officiating mistakes -- and the league office's lack of accountability to rectify them -- as one of players' biggest qualms with the league. She also suggested that Engelbert doesn't prioritize the health of players or the product they put out. Instead, Engelbert demanded credit for the league's growth, Collier claimed. Caught in the crosshairs of Engelbert's alleged hubris was Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
Engelbert reportedly stated that star players like Clark "should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything," and that "players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them."
Collier's comments drew praise across the sports world. Engelbert released a statement pushing back on Collier's claims. On Friday, she'll get a chance to formally talk about them during her annual state of the league address.
MORE: Why Napheesa Collier blasted Cathy Engelbert for ‘worst leadership in the world'
The Sporting News is tracking live updates and highlights from Engelbert's first public appearance since Collier's explosive comments. Follow below to see how the WNBA Commissioner responded to Collier and her colleagues' damning accusations.
Cathy Engelbert live updates, highlights from first press conference since Napheesa Collier remarks
(All times Eastern)
7:27 p.m.: Engelbert denied Collier's claim that she said that Caitlin Clark should be "should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything.'" She called it one of the many "inaccuracies" reported in the media.
7:24 p.m.: Engelbert claims that one of the primary factors in current CBA negotiations is the difference between players' desire to get paid and "incentivize investment into the sport."
7:20 p.m.: Engelbert said the league is still searching for an answer to the increased prevalence of injuries seen in recent seasons. Said they still have to find a middle-ground between allowing physicality and protecting players.
7:16 p.m.: Engelbert also said rumors that she could step down are coated in "inaccuracies." She said she's never been a quitter and looks forward to attempting to repair any loss of trust between her and the players.
7:15 p.m.: Engelbert rejects many of Collier's claims, labeling them as "inaccuracies." She's been in touch with the Lynx star and plans on meeting with her next week. Engelbert also said it has been a challenging week for her and her family.
7:14 p.m.: The Connecticut Sun's prospective sale remains up in the air per Engelbert, with the Mohegan Tribe still working through offers.
7:12 p.m.: The WNBA's CBA expires on Oct. 31. Engelbert is hopeful and "confident" that the league will find an agreement with the players association. However, a deadline extension is always a possibility.
7:10 p.m.: Engelbert announced that the league is planning on creating a state of the game committee and reevaluate the league's officiating via the competition committee.
"It's pretty clear that we're misaligned currently on what our stakeholders want from officiating," Engelbert said.
7:08 p.m.: Engelbert acknowledged that the league has to do better to value its players.
"If the players in the W don't feel appreciated and valued by the league," Engelbert said, "then we have to do better and I have to do better."
7:05 p.m.: Engelbert opens her discussion by recognizing the Aces and Mercury's paths to the WNBA Finals.
6:55 p.m.: We're about five minutes from Engelbert stepping up to the lectern to offer musings on the future of the league. Follow here for more updates.
6:45 p.m.: Here is a reminder of what Collier said regarding Engelbert and her capacity to run the league earlier in the week.
Napheesa Collier’s full statement today, where she challenged Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA with directness and stunning detail we rarely hear from active players. Worth listening to every word. pic.twitter.com/IRTvTc52EA
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) September 30, 2025
And here's a transcript of Collier's remarks.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate the Mercury for advancing to the Finals. I want to be clear this conversation is not about winning or losing, it's about something much bigger. 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 from 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 the lack of accountability from our leaders. The league has a buzzword that they rolled out as a talking point for the CBA as to why they can't pay the players what we're worth; that word is sustainability. But what's truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games. Fans see it every night. Coaches, both winning and losing, point it out every night in pre- and post-game media. And leadership just issues fines and looks the other way. They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging them to fix. That is negligence.
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.' 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 the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything.'
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.
I have the privilege of watching my husband run a league where he has to balance 100 different things at once. I won't pretend the job is easy, but even with all of that on his plate, he always reaches out to players when he sees an injury, whether it's Unrivaled or even during the WNBA season. That is what leadership looks like. It's the human element, it's basic integrity, and it's the bare minimum any leader should embody. But do you know who I haven't heard from? Cathy. Not one call, not one text. Instead the only outreach has come from her No. 2 telling my agent that she doesn't believe physical play is contributing to injuries.
That is infuriating. And it's the perfect example of the tone deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take. I've finally grown tired. For too long, I've tried to have these conversations in private, but it's clear there's no intention of accepting there's a problem. The league has made it clear it isn't about innovation, it isn't about collaboration, it's about control and power. I've earned this platform and I 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.
Our leadership's answer to being held accountable is to suppress everyone's voices by handing out fines. I'm not concerned about a fine. I'm concerned about the future of our sport. At some point, everyone deserves to hear the truth from someone who I hope has earned the benefit of the doubt to fight for what is right and fair for our athletes and our fans. 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.
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 dispensible, and 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.
When is Cathy Engelbert's press conference?
- Date: Friday, October 4
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
Engelbert is expected to speak with the media at 7 p.m. ET, one hour before the the WNBA Finals between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces tips off.
How to watch Cathy Engelbert press conference today
Engelbert's press conference will be available to watch on WNBA League Pass. The spectacle is also likely to be broadcast on YouTube, either through the WNBA's official channel or third-party channels. ESPN is also expected to carry at least a portion of the press conference on its WNBA Countdown program.