A couple of T-shirts have caught the eye of Cathy Engelbert in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the WNBA commissioner was playing golf near Lake Tahoe when she spotted someone wearing the colors of the Golden State Valkyries.
They are only midway through their inaugural season, but next year Golden State is expected to be the WNBA’s most valuable team, surpassing even the $400 million New York Liberty.
It is yet more proof of what Engelbert calls the league’s ‘hyper growth’ – an astonishing rise in attention, ticket sales, TV viewers and sponsorship deals over the past couple of years since Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and other ‘generational rookies’ joined the WNBA.
‘If you build it, they will come, and they did,’ Engelbert tells the Daily Mail. ‘We’ve been preparing for it and transforming around it… to bring in the women’s sports fans that weren’t there before.’
But then came a stark reminder that every steep climb carries the risk of stormy weather. During All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, Clark and other WNBA players staged a surprise, silent protest. They all wore black T-shirts that read: ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us.’
It caused tremors on social media and illustrated the friction that lingers between the league and its biggest stars as talks drag on over a new collective bargaining agreement.
Caitlin Clark and other WNBA stars staged a protest at the All-Star Game last week
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke to the Daily Mail about Clark and the league’s rise
Engelbert was booed and targeted with chants of ‘Pay Them! Pay Them!’ But she remains ‘really optimistic’ that they will strike a ‘transformational’ deal to satisfy even the league’s biggest star.
‘Caitlin’s such a great player and a great person,’ Engelbert tells the Daily Mail. ‘We’re so thrilled to have her, and she’s been such a great representative of the league.’
But even as Clark has helped lift the WNBA to new heights, trouble has follow closed behind. In the 15 months since she was taken first overall in the 2024 draft by the Indiana Fever, WNBA leaders have struggled to contain concerns over the treatment of their biggest star. There have even been suggestions that Clark could start her own league.
Last season, she was knocked over by Chennedy Carter in a collision that sparked a nationwide frenzy. This year, on opening night, Clark clashed with Reese as their rivalry ratcheted up another notch. And just weeks ago, she was bumped to the ground in an ill-tempered game against the Connecticut Sun.
At times, Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham has morphed into her on-court enforcer. But even she couldn’t protect the 23-year-old from a thinly-veiled dig by Kelsey Plum over the recent protest.
It has all led to rather serious allegations: that other WNBA players bully Clark, that many are jealous of her and the credit she receives for building the league’s profile. Some stars have openly suggested race plays a part and Clark herself believes she benefits from ‘white privilege.’ Whatever the truth, it is a toxic, troubling undercurrent.
‘I know there’s that perception (about bullying) and obviously we’re the best women’s basketball league in the world. I think people love watching our game, and it is physical,’ Engelbert says. ‘Everyone thinks it’s just Caitlin, but everybody’s getting bumped.’
The Indiana Fever star was bumped to the ground in an ill-tempered game against the Sun
Other WNBA stars have been accused of bullying and being jealous of the No 1 overall pick
So is the commissioner comfortable with how Clark is treated by her opponents? Engelbert won’t be drawn on that. What she will say: ‘All our players are experiencing it. Caitlin has been great. She’s handled it great.
‘I’m proud of Caitlin on how she’s handled all this. I’m proud of all the others and how they’re handling it with grace. But it’s a physical game on the court, and I think players understand that.’
But do the fans? Clark’s profile and race have made her a lightning rod for wider debates and culture wars. Last year, she spoke out against those supporters who ‘use her name’ to denigrate other players with racist and misogynistic slurs.
‘It’s obviously unacceptable, the vitriol that’s out there for not just WNBA players, but female athletes,’ Engelbert says. ‘They get it harder than anyone else. I get it as a female commissioner.’
The WNBA has introduced new technology that allows players to ‘block out the hate’ on social media and fans inside the arenas are warned about their conduct, too.
‘It’s just unfortunate that we’re in a society where a lot of people can type things with no accountability,’ she adds. ‘[Players] have been experiencing it for a long time, but social media now is so widespread, and we’ve brought tens of millions of more fans into the league. So I think it’s heightened… but we also have to try to do as much as we can to fight against it.’
The haters would struggle to argue with the numbers – last season, the WNBA set records for merchandise sales and saw a 48 percent rise in attendances from 2023. Several TV records fell, too.
‘When I started with the league, maybe we had 80 games on national platforms. Now we have over 200,’ says Engelbert, who has been in charge since 2019. But now, players want more of the spoils.
Angel Reese attempts to confront Clark during a game between the Fever and the Sky in May
Injury problems have meant the 23-year-old has now missed 11 of 24 games this season
Engelbert spoke to the Daily Mail before the All-Star protest, but salaries have been a point of contention ever since it emerged that Clark would earn just $76,500 as a rookie.
Victor Wembanyama – the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft – was paid $12.1 million, and former President Joe Biden was among those to wade in and demand women be ‘paid what they deserve.’
‘It’s great that everybody’s talking [about the WNBA],’ Engelbert says. ‘[Caitlin] is really thoughtful, not just about her game, but also about growing women’s basketball and growing the WNBA fandom.’
But the commissioner wants to make one thing clear. ‘No league ever made themselves on one player, even in the [Larry] Bird-Magic [Johnson] era, the Michael Jordan era, the Kobe [Bryant]-Shaq [O’Neal] era,’ Engelbert insists.
‘You have to build your league and market around all of your players and your stars. And we’ve built household names.’ She singles out the likes of A’ja Wilson, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. ‘You can never build it around one.’
And yet everything was laid out for Clark to be the poster girl of All-Star weekend. She was named one of the captains – after receiving the most fan votes – and the game was held at her home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana.
Alas, the 23-year-old was reduced to the role of spectator – and protester – after pulling out with a groin injury.
Clark didn’t miss a single game in her college career or her rookie campaign. She has now missed 13 games this season. That is a concern for the league and for Clark, who has battled issues with her quad and groin. It begs the question: Does she deserve better protection?
Well, the Fever star recently exploded at a referee, while in a now-deleted post on social media, her brother Colin appeared to blame the officials for Clark’s latest injury struggle.
Engelbert revealed that the next stage of the WNBA’s expansion will be globalization
‘So people coming off of thinking that female athletes shouldn’t be physical is part of what we’re trying to change the narrative on,’ Engelbert says. ‘It’s a physical game. Is Caitlyn getting bumped? Yes, but other players are too.’
The truth, though, is that both the Fever and the WNBA need Clark to be healthy to continue their remarkable rise. The league recently announced new expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. They had previously confirmed that Toronto and Portland would join in 2026. The next frontier? Going global.
‘We’re now a big domestic brand,’ Engelbert says, before pointing out that Toronto will take the WNBA into Canada for the first time. ‘And then we have admired what the NBA has done over many years with bringing their players [from] and building fandom in Europe, Middle East Asia and longer term Africa.
‘This year… it’s about sustaining the tens of millions of new fans we brought into the league last year, but gain on that, too.’
And sometimes, solutions are simple. ‘I can’t stress enough: the quality of the product on the court is so important,’ Engelbert says. ‘And we’re so fortunate to have the best players in the world.’
