The drama involving Cathy Engelbert is unlikely to die down any time soon. With the CBA negotiations heightening tensions, widespread criticism of the league commissioner is coming from the players. Only recently, the likes of Nneka Ogwumike called out Engelbert while praising Napheesa Collier. The entire fiasco started when Collier lashed out at the commissioner, accusing her of a lack of accountability. And now, Megan Rapinoe, too, lashed out at Engelbert.
In her recent statement, Rapinoe opined that it is pretty much evident that the players are unhappy with Engelbert. And this signifies a deeper communication failure.
Megan Rapinoe Criticizes Cathy Engelbert
Collier, in her exit interview, stated that the primary concern for the WNBA players was not finances. Rather, it was the lack of accountability from the league leadership. She also stated that Engelbert allegedly told her Caitlin Clark should be thankful for earning $16 million. Surely, all these added up as more and more players came forward to criticize the commissioner. In a recent sit-down discussion with Sue Bird, Rapinoe pointed towards the trust issues with Engelbert.
“I think with Cathy, if you know, I have to like point to a failure, it’s clearly that the trust in the relationship with the players has really broken down. It seems like they feel that they are not being heard, so this is their only lever to pull to get their side of the story out there,” said Rapinoe.
"I think with Cathy, if, you know, I have to like point to a failure, it's clearly that the trust in the relationship with the players has really broken down."
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) October 16, 2025
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird weigh in on the stand-off between WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert and the players as the… pic.twitter.com/RvppWFk3ru
Listening to Rapinoe, Bird stated that the consistent gap in payments continues to hinder the WNBA’s growth. Meanwhile, not only Rapinoe, but Aces’ star A’ja Wilson, too, had her frustrations vented out at Engelbert.
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A’ja Wilson Criticizes Cathy Engelbert While Supporting Napheesa Collier
Wilson had a stellar WNBA season this year. However, her attention was not only on her on-court antics but also on how things were outside of it. Recently, cameras caught Wilson’s hilarious reaction to fans booing Engelbert. And following Collier’s outburst on the league commissioner, Wilson publicly supported the Lynx’s star.
“I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made. But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of players’ association representing us, because that’s what we are going to have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in. I’m grateful to have those types of people be able to continue to speak up for us,“ Wilson said.
Surely, it is evident that the situation is taking a very complicated turn. And with negative comments pouring in, fans will be intrigued to see what the future holds for Engelbert.