Well, the WNBA has once again been on fire on and off the court. As we embark on this year’s WNBA Finals, the buzz in the “W” has also transitioned to talk of the league’s upcoming collective bargaining agreement. In the days leading up to the finals, the stars of the league conducted their exit videos for the season. Being the WNBPA Vice President, Napheesa Collier’s scathing critique of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert took center stage. Among her critiques, she stated that the WNBA has the “worst leadership in the world.”
The gloves are off
These barbs were a punctuation on a season full of critiquing the WNBA brass. From officiating deficiencies to pay and revenue-sharing disparities, there was no shortage of qualms that WNBA players had with the league. Another one of Collier’s comments alluded to the volume of eyes to the game that Caitlin Clark generates, but she and other rookies receive so much less from their salary than they do from endorsement deals. Engelbert’s response to that critique was that 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.
A hubris-filled response by Engelbert was not embraced by the public. In fact, much of the sports community sides with the sentiments of Collier and the players. So, as they will sit at a bargaining table this off-season, finding a feasible resolution may be deemed difficult. That is, of course, this play was the start of a larger one that sees Engelbert resign. As she is the representative of the team owners in this equation, it behooves the owners to have a commissioner who will elicit respect from the players.
For far too long, the women of the WNBA haven’t had enough opportunities to have true leverage in the shaping of the trajectory of their careers and experiences in the league. This very pointed presser from Collier exemplifies a new day in the W. It’s a day when asserting your voice on the business end of basketball will have to be respected by league executives. These women are riding on a high, fully realizing the potential of their product. The basketball is the best it has ever been, there’s marketable personalities, and the ad money is beginning to roll in. Now these players just desire a more respectable piece of the pie and would like for that to be advocated for on the other end as well.
Those kitten heels were made for walking
It seems as if Engelbert isn’t keen on playing ball in that way. But I’m here to tell you that if she isn’t, her own people will call for her to step down. She will be the last deciding factor as to why the league has a lockout if they don’t come to any terms this offseason. It doesn’t help the league owners to be able to work with the players’ association. Both sides are necessary to produce a viable WNBA on the court and in their bank accounts.
The hubris that Engelbert has exhibited sets everything back. It came off as egregious as it was apathetic. You won’t reap any positive benefit from conducting yourself that way in front of our eyes. Well, maybe one person in this nation gets away with it. But it for damn sure won’t be Engelbert, I’d certainly place a FanDuel bet on that.