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Cathy Engelbert didn’t get a warm welcome in Phoenix Friday night.
The WNBA commissioner took to the field to present the finals trophy to the Las Vegas Aces, but she was quickly booed.
One attendee in the crowd was even seen giving the finger as Engelbert spoke to congratulate the Aces.
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WNBA Commissioner Catherine Engelbert speaks to the crowd after the Las Vegas Aces won Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Playoff Finals at the Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Las Vegas Aces defeat the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 to win the championship. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“Well, we’re here today to celebrate a champion. Thank you to all the fans. Phoenix had a great run to get here, and I just want to congratulate the Aces on their performance, 2025 WNBA champions,” Engelbert said amid continued boos.
The Aces, despite completing their third title in four years, looked visibly uncomfortable, and Finals MVP A’ja Wilson showed a worried look.
Engelbert has received a lot of backlash recently, with the commissioner reportedly making dismissive and condescending remarks about players’ concerns. Napheesa Collier also claimed that Engelbert said that Caitlin Clark “should be grateful that she made $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”
Collier also alleged that Engelbert told him, “The players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal I got them.”
“When you have great players, you have to treat them like that, and it’s up and down,” Aces point guard Chelsea Gray said after the game.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presents the Most Valuable Player award to A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces after winning Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals at the Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
WNBA NEEDS CAITLIN CLARK MORE THAN IT NEEDS THE LEAGUE, SAYS LONG SPORTSMAN DAN PATRICK
Wilson shared her displeasure with Engelbert earlier this month, saying she was “disgusted” by Engelbert’s comments. Wilson played the tambourine to celebrate Gray’s comments Friday.
While addressing the alleged comments about Clark, Engelbert denied making them.
“Obviously, I didn’t make those comments. 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,” Engelbert said at a news conference last week.
Clark said the league is in a “moment that we need to capitalize on.”
“I think for me, and I’ve said this many times, it’s all about relationships, and that’s the truth,” Clark said last week. “And I know that’s really hard to say in professional sports. But whether it’s a relationship with your front office, whether it’s a relationship with the commissioner of the league, whether it’s your relationship with your teammates, that’s the most important thing in leadership.”
Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected as the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York on April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
The current WNBA collective bargaining agreement ends October 31.
