If there were any hopes of a reconciliation between the Minnesota Lynx and the WNBA, with Napheesa Collier’s injury, it all seems to have vanished. The wounds of the 2024 WNBA finals were still fresh. But, with the way Lynx played this year, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to move on from last year’s horrendous refereeing error that cost them a championship. But now, as Napheesa Collier ended her exit interview with a powerful statement, which put the league commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, in a hot seat.

Talking about her husband and the way he runs Unrivaled, Napheesa Collier questioned Cathy Engelbert’s leadership. In her statement, she said, “I have the privilege of watching my husband run a league where he has to balance 100 different things at once. I won’t pretend the job is easy. But even with all that on his plate, he always takes the time to reach out to the players when he sees an injury. Whether it’s Unrivaled or even during the WNBA season. That is what leadership looks like. It’s the human element. It’s basic integrity, and it’s the bare minimum any leader should embody. This year alone, I’ve got calls, texts, and wishes from so many players across the league. Those moments remind me that sometimes there are things bigger than the results of this game we play.”

With his previous experience as a basketball trainer, Alex Bazzell knows the inner workings of the league. In his career, he has seen many players struggle with injuries and, due to that, he makes it a point to check in with them regardless of whether they are playing in Unrivaled or not. These are the leadership qualities that made Unrivaled such a success in their debut campaign. Sure, the exciting level of play had a lot to do with the popularity, but if the players did not buy into Alex Bezzell’s leadership, the levels of success would never be the same.

Talking about her dissatisfaction with Cathy Engelbert, Napheesa Collier said, “But you know who I haven’t heard from, Cathy. Not one call, not one text. Instead, the outreach has come from her number 2, telling my agent that she doesn’t think physical play is contributing to the injuries. That is infuriating and it is the perfect example of the tone-deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take.” 

Throughout the entirety of the 2025 WNBA season, Cathy Engelbert has been under considerable pressure. The pressure on her started even before the season began, as the WNBPA decided to opt out of the current CBA, and the ticking clock of an impending WNBA lockout started. Since then, there has been no progress on that. But that’s not all. For most of the season, WNBA players, coaches and fans have been very vocal about the lack of protection on the court.

Sure, one or two teams complaining about the referees is nothing new. But when the entire league calls out the problem, then that needs to be addressed. However, from what we gather from Napheesa Collier’s statement, it seems like Cathy Engelbert is not taking these concerns seriously. This is a very dangerous situation for the league. As we all know, the WNBA is in a never-before-seen state of boom. As things stand, the league is the fastest-growing league in the country. But if dissatisfaction among the League officials and players continues to escalate, all the momentum built in the last couple of years will be lost.

WNBA Releases Statement After Napheesa Collier’s Statements

After the explosive end to Napheesa Collier’s exit interview, there was bound to be a powerful reaction from all sides of the basketball world. While her coach, Cheryl Reeve, fully supported the statements, the fans also seemed fully behind her. And now, the WNBA has responded to these comments via a statement. However, if this statement was supposed to calm things down, it has had the opposite effect.

One of the strangest things about the statement released was that Cathy Engelbert did not deny any of the instances brought to light by Napheesa Collier. This lack of denial has further reduced the confidence among the fans in the league’s leadership, which was already pretty low to begin with. It is true that under Cathy Engelbert’s leadership, the league has taken some significant strides forward.

But for most of the season, there has only been negative feedback regarding how the league officials are handling the players and their disputes. The WNBA had a golden opportunity to end the CBA negotiations during the All-Star Weekend. But they failed in that as well. The comments coming from the players’ side after these conversations were that they were wasteful.

The full after effects of Napheesa Collier’s powerful statement remain to be seen. But one thing is certain. The league is heading into uncharted territory. With just one month left until the deadline for a new CBA deal, there are bound to be some pretty big changes in the WNBA.

(This is a developing story)