NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed a conversation revealed by player Napheesa Collier, who said that Gelbert said “[Caitlin Clark] Should be grateful that she earns $ 16 million on the field, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she would do nothing. “”
Engelbert said at a press conference on Friday that she had not made these comments.
“Obviously, I did not make these comments. Caitlin was a transformational player in this league. She was a great representative of the game. She brought tens of millions of new fans to the game,” said Engelbert.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover on Foxnews.com
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks at a press conference before the WNBA stars match on July 19, 2025 in Indianapolis. (Michael Conroy / AP Photo)
Collier also allegedly alleged that Gelbert said: “The players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights agreement that I obtained them.”
Engelbert also addressed these alleged comments, saying that there had been many “inaccuracies” reported in the media, but she did not explicitly denied having made these comments as she did with the alleged comments from Clark.
“There are a lot of innacuracy through social media and all these reports,” said Engelbert. “Lots of reports, a lot of Innacuracy on what I say, what I haven’t said.”
Napheesa Lynx Rails necklace against the management of WNBA, calls for officiating changes
The Indiana Caitlin Clark fever guard plays against the Dallas wings in Indianapolis on September 15, 2024. (Michael Conroy, File / AP Photo)
Engelbert said later: “I am discouraged. I am also a human. I have a family. I have two children who are devastated by these comments. So, all I say is that it was obviously a difficult week, and I just think that there is a lot of staple there.”
However, Engelbert has recognized that if the players do not feel “appreciated”, then she must do better.
“I was discouraged to hear that some players feel the League and that personally, I do not care about them or listened to them,” said Engelbert before the first game of the WNBA final on Friday evening.
“If the players of the ‘W’ do not feel appreciated and the value of the league, we must do better and I have to do better.”
The WNBA and the union of its players, the WNBPA, are in negotiation for a new collective agreement.
Caitlin Clark poses with the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, after being selected as a global choice n ° 1 by the fever of the Indiana in the draft of the WNBA 2024 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, NY, on April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner / USA TODAY SPORTS)
The Association of Players and the WNBA agreed with an eight -year agreement in 2020, but last year, the WNBPA voted early to withdraw from the agreement.
The current agreement must expire on October 31.
