Cathy Engelbert admits ‘we have to be better’ at communicating with WNBA players

CHICAGO — WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was prepared as she took the podium for her annual press conference ahead of the All-Star game.

She emphasized the league’s historic growth, announced a replay center will be available next season and addressed the concerns over player safety amid their testimonies of online abuse and harassment. But when it came to her future as commissioner, she was indirect.

“I am so blessed to be at the helm of this league during this incredible hypergrowth,” Engelbert said when asked if she expects to be commissioner at the start of next season.

Though she did not commit to an answer about her future, she detailed the ways she’s loved serving as commissioner, the values the WNBA stands for and pride over where the league is headed. She did, however, acknowledge where she needs to be better and that’s in her communication with the league’s biggest stakeholders — the players.

“It’s absolutely something I’ve been talking with players about how much they want to hear from us,” Engelbert said.

“We have to be better at it. It’s something if a player is getting honored or a player gets hurt or something, I try to reach out to them. We need to be better at it. There’s no doubt. I need to be better. Everybody needs to be better at communication all the time.”

The tension between players and Engelbert seemed to boil over last year amidst negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. Whether their relationship has improved in the roughly four months since both sides reached an agreement, avoiding a delay to the 2026 season, depends on who is asked.

Engelbert acknowledged the “contentious” nature of labor negotiations and how that played a role in her relationship with players last year but said she feels they are in a “really good place.”

“I interacted with a lot of players, whether it was at WNBA Live or last night,” Engelbert said. “I mean, players know it was a hard-fought battle, as many CBAs are in sports. But I think they know that the league is in a really good place.

“What’s good for our players is good for our league.”

Some players, like New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, have indicated marginal improvements in their relationship with the commissioner. But others like Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, two of the bigger stars in the WNBA, have been direct about the lack of any relationship they feel they have with the commissioner.

“My relationship with Cathy is when she hands me awards, which is great,” Wilson said. “I love to see her in that light. But I think when it comes to leadership, I’m always big on bonds. I’m always big on connection on a deeper level, and I think that’s what we all try to look for when it comes to a leader.”

Beyond the criticism Engelbert has fielded over her communication issues with players, she has also come under fire for the league’s handling of various crises.

Earlier this week, the WNBPA’s executive committee and the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee met with Engelbert virtually for a 90-minute call to discuss their desire to see the league take a more proactive approach in its handling of everything from officiating concerns to the racism that’s been hurled at players online to league-wide security measures.

On Saturday, Engelbert reiterated existing security measures and said the league will continue to put resources behind addressing those concerns while also doing a better job of explaining to players what is happening behind the scenes to ensure their safety.

Engelbert also briefly addressed transparency issues the league is facing as it pertains to injury reports, fines, suspensions and even investigations. She said the WNBA has “processes” it’s been following for 30 years but didn’t go into detail on what those processes are.

The WNBA launched an independent investigation into the Aces regarding concerns over potential salary cap circumvention in May 2024. Engelbert said Saturday the league had “wrapped that up for now” after it was determined there is insufficient evidence to prove the Aces violated league rules.

The WNBA has reached never-before-seen heights under Engelbert’s leadership.

The new CBA was the second transformational deal she’s helped broker. This season is the most watched in the league’s history. Through 117 broadcasts, over 73 million unique viewers have been reached, up from 63 million total last year. The WNBA has had 29 games average over 1 million viewers. Last year the league had 11 games average 1 million viewers for the entire six-month season.

Despite that growth, Engelbert’s future remains in question.

“It’s not on me to decide,” Ogwumike told a group of reporters on Friday when asked if she’d like to see Engelbert remain as commissioner. “For players, when leadership is here, we rock with leadership. Cathy is here. I know there’s a lot of different conversations around the future of our leadership. But I told her that on Monday: This is who we got, this is what we all envision that we want us to be, and we’re going to rock with who we got.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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