WNBA star Napheesa Collier has reportedly cancelled a meeting with commissioner Cathy Engelbert as division between the league and its top players deepens.
The Minnesota Lynx forward was due to speak to Engelbert next week to discuss her scathing criticism of the WNBA and its leadership.
But now reports claim their relationship is ‘beyond repair’ after Engelbert gave a press conference disputing Collier’s account of a private conversation between them.
According to ESPN, as of Saturday night, Collier has not officially told Engelbert that she had cancelled the meeting.
But it represents the latest twist in an ongoing feud between the commissioner and some of the WNBA’s biggest stars.
Engelbert has faced a barrage of criticism over her leadership in recent days, most notably when Collier claimed the WNBA has ‘the worst leadership in the world.’
WNBA star Napheesa Collier has reportedly cancelled a meeting with Cathy Engelbert
The WNBA commissioner has come under fire from a number of players in recent days
Engelbert denied saying Caitlin Clark should be ‘grateful’ for the platform provided by WNBA
Collier said that Engelbert had suggested that Caitlin Clark should be ‘grateful’ for the platform provided to her by the WNBA when she raised concerns over rookie contracts.
‘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,’ Collier recalled.
‘Her response was, “Caitlin should be grateful she makes $60 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”‘
But, speaking ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday, Engelbert disputed Collier’s version of events.
Despite admitting that she was ‘disheartened’ by the Lynx star’s sentiments, the commissioner said: ‘Obviously I did not make those comments [about Clark].’
She claimed: ‘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.’
Collier, who helped launch the Unrivaled three-on-three league, also ripped into the WNBA’s ‘negligent’ leadership over CBA negotiations, media rights and officiating.
In the same conversation, she claimed, Engelbert said players should be ‘on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.’
Again, though, the commissioner denied making those remarks. ‘There’s a lot of inaccuracy out there on social media and all this reporting,’ she said.
Clark’s Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham is the latest to slam the commissioner
‘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.’
Clark was among the WNBA stars to support Collier, with the Indiana Fever star claiming she made ‘valid points.’ And Engelbert continues to come under fire, with Sophie Cunningham the latest to slam the commissioner.
But the 60-year-old Engelbert dismissed speculation surrounding her future, claiming: ‘(I’ve) never been a quitter, never shied away… if there are things we need to fix, we’re gonna fix them.’
She added: ‘There’s so many things that we can do together and I hope that the players see that. I feel confident that we can repair any loss of trust.’
