WNBA commissioner denies alleged statement saying Caitlin Clark should be ‘grateful’ to league for success

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed an alleged conversation that was revealed by player Napheesa Collier, who alleged Engelbert said “[Caitlin Clark] should be grateful. She makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”

Engelbert said at a press conference on Friday that she did not make those comments. 

“Obviously I did not make those comments, Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game,” Engelbert said. 

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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks during a news conference before the WNBA All-Star basketball game, Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Indianapolis.  (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)

Collier also alleged that Engelbert said, “Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”

Engelbert addressed those alleged comments as well, claiming that there have been a lot of “inaccuracies” reported in the media, but did not explicitly deny making those alleged comments as she did with the alleged Clark comments. 

“There’s a lot of innacuracy out there through social media and all this reporting,” Engelbert said. “A lot of reporting, a lot of innacuracy about what I say, what I didn’t say.”

LYNX’S NAPHEESA COLLIER RAILS AGAINST WNBA LEADERSHIP, CALLS FOR OFFICIATING CHANGES

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) plays against the Dallas Wings in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.  (Michael Conroy, File/AP Photo)

Engelbert later said, “I’m disheartened. I’m a human too. I have a family. I have two kids who are devastated by these comments. So all I say is that it’s obviously been a tough week and I just think there’s a lot of innacuracy out there.”

Still, Engelbert acknowledged that if players don’t feel “appreciated” then she has to do better.

“I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league and that I personally do not care about them or listen to them,” Engelbert said before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night. “If the players in the ‘W’ don’t feel appreciated and value from the league, we have to do better and I have to do better.”

The WNBA and its players’ union the WNBPA are currently in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

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Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)

The players’ association and the WNBA agreed to an eight-year agreement in 2020, but last year the WNBPA voted to opt out of the agreement early. 

The current agreement is due to expire on Oct. 31. 

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