Cathy Engelbert was at the heart of the WNBA’s rise ever since she joined the league in 2019. It was the new role in the WNBA, and the former Deloitte CEO took it to the highest level with her decision-making, one CBA negotiation, and spreading the league’s popularity with the help of players.
But after six seasons, every wrong decision is coming back to her, and Napheesa Collier’s recent speech criticizing Englebert’s accountability hit hard as the league owners are considering replacing her, as per ESPN’s report.
Issues In WNBA Troubling Cathy Engelbert
When the Lynx star criticized the 60-year-old executive, the league showed its support to the Commissioner. Every other player showed support for the Lynx forward, thrashing Engelbert with their views and comments. The growing criticism, along with concerns over the officiating issue and the Connecticut Sun sale, put her in a bad light.
“Once you have that kind of fighting with your best players. It’s a death spiral,” one team executive told ESPN.
The league saw a rise in complaints about officiating as players, coaches, and even analysts voiced their dissatisfaction over the inconsistency and stance of the league authorities to work on it. A few players and coaches even received fines for their words against the WNBA officiating, which backfired on the ‘W’.
The WNBA's CBA expires Oct. 31.
— ESPN (@espn) October 13, 2025
Here are the biggest issues and how WNBA players' criticisms of Cathy Engelbert might impact negotiations ⬇️ https://t.co/IJ4YoNjrq4
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The situation got worse with players ready to sit out for the entire season if the CBA does not reach its conclusion by the end of the 2025 season, the official date is October 31. Even though the commissioner disagreed with Collier’s criticism, Engelbert acknowledged, “If the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better.”
However, many analysts suggest that even though the WNBA Commissioner will seek to improve her relationship with the players, she has already lost much time and trust.
Cathy Engelbert Needs To Work On Relationship With Players
The core issue that caused the heavy firing is the ‘relationship with players’. The NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, acknowledged that there are issues with the relationship between Engelbert and WNBA players. Players like Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson sent relationship-building advice to Cathy Engelbert amid growing criticism.
During the WNBA All-Star game, fans booed the Commissioner, which showed the fans’ perspective on the topic. In the WNBA Finals, the Commissioner also had to defend herself in front of fans. During the trophy presentation ceremony, cameras caught A’Ja Wilson’s hilarious reaction to fans booing Cathy Engelbert.
All these mega instances showed that she is losing fan support as well, which might force a change at the top position.