During the WNBA CBA negotiations, ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike remarked, “Everyone is playing their role to avoid a lockout… but to do that, you need real conversations. It now feels like wasted time, and that’s on Cathy, unfortunately.” Her comments came after Commissioner Cathy Engelbert drew attention away from talks when Napheesa Collier made a series of allegations against her, reportedly eroding player trust. However, according to a reporter, the commissioner might not be as bad as she is being portrayed.

The ‘Good Fellow’ show host and ESPN reporter Ros Gold-Onwude recently discussed the WNBA’s CBA contract along with guest host and 5x WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry. During the same time, she highlighted Adam Silver’s comments about the situation, and how the NBA leadership is also “very much to breast on what’s happening in these CBA negotiations.”

In fact, Gold-Onwude went so far as to claim that “I actually think there’s a situation where, in some ways, Cathy Engelbert is more of like a figurehead who’s getting scapegoated in some ways, or being piled on in some ways. And while she’s certainly flawed, and has made some mistakes here, it’s not…. She’s not the only decision maker who is denying some of the requests of these players.” The reporter does have a point because a similar sentiment was put forward by one of Atlanta Dream’s top bosses earlier.

Atlanta Dream CEO Suzanne Abair once said that “If all the WNBA owners say they want to do something and the NBA says no, the answer is no.” Her reasoning stemmed from the fact that the WNBA owners only own 42% of the league. Meanwhile, the NBA holds another 42% of the league, and the remaining 16% belongs to a 2022 investment consortium. Add this to the fact that 6 of the WNBA’s 14 franchises are owned by NBA team owners. As a result, NBA owners directly control more than 60% of the WNBA.

This means that the league representatives have a major say on the decisions the women’s league takes, which can include player pay. But as of now, there is no evidence to prove that Adam Silver, or any other external force, is stopping the WNBA players from getting a higher salary. In fact, in his recent statement, the NBA commissioner said:

“Cathy Englebert has presided over historic growth in the league, but there’s no question that there’s issues we need to address with our players. They’re not just economic. There’s relationship issues, as well. I’m confident we can fix those over time, and this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it’s on right now.”

Cathy Engelbert may or may not be making the ultimate decisions. However, she will get blamed anyway if the new CBA agreement does not give the WNBA players enough money, or if disagreement on the particulars of the deal results in a lockdown, given the post she holds and the responsibility the chair demands. This, according to a reporter, could be enough to compel the WNBA commissioner and the players to reach a middle ground.

League trust erodes as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert fumbles at critical CBA talks

A few days ago, ‘WNBA on NBC’ hosts Natalie Esquire and Megan L. Hall touched base on Cathy Engelbert’s presser. The press meet was held to provide a defense of the allegations Napheesa Collier had made. According to Megan, the commissioner wasn’t prepared to deal with the questions.

Megan said: “I was looking at her body language, and she looked very uncomfortable answering these questions, which I can imagine a lot of pressure to do so. Her eyes also seemed to dart from moment to moment.” If Cathy Engelbert was trying to show as if the Minnesota Lynx star’s allegations hadn’t affected her, then she wasn’t fooling Megan L. Hall.

“There were moments where Cathy Engelbert, as well, was just looking down at the ground, listening to these questions, and like seemingly waiting to get her answers for them,” Hall said. “I…. So to me, I…. I wasn’t quite convinced that she was fully digesting what was happening. It almost felt like she couldn’t get through that presser fast enough”.

The commissioner being ‘uncomfortable’ means that she might be willing to put the whole ordeal behind her. This led Megan to further add that “There’s an October 31st deadline to ratify a new CBA, and it’s October 6 as of this date of this recording, and I’m not convinced we’re going to get there by October 31st, which means there could be a lockout on the horizon,” Megan added.

When the reporter asked the commissioner about the lockdown, “Cathy Engelbert was like, ‘Yeah, that’s a great question, right?’ And so I don’t know that they necessarily have that full answer right now, but it’s go that question’s going to get louder. So, I just think right now there’s more pressure on the league than it is on the players to potentially come to good faith.”

Collier’s remarks have gained support from players like Angel Reese and coaches like Stephanie White to sportscasters like Stephen A. Smith. She holds the upper ground, as seen when she reportedly canceled a meeting scheduled with the commissioner after the latter insinuated that the player was lying. Therefore, whether this growing divide compels the commissioner to make a deal soon in the coming days is something that remains to be seen.