I want to paint the picture for everyone. This is my second year doing Minnesota Lynx exit interviews. Last season, players were understandably upset. They talked about a championship that was perceived as being stolen. Players expressed frustration with the officiating and the situation, and the main takeaway was that the Lynx would enact revenge this year.
This year, as Courtney Williams, Bridget Carleton, and Kayla McBride rolled through to speak on a season in which the Lynx led nearly every regular-season analytical category, it was a different vibe entirely. They acknowledged a lost opportunity. Were they frustrated at not winning a championship? Still, there was a levity to it, a gratefulness for the season they had and the fans who supported them.
Napheesa Collier entered the room as the fourth speaker. As she walked in with her left leg in a CAN Boot, she stumbled for just a moment getting on stage. Before the cameras rolled, she greeted everyone with her infectious smile.
Then, she changed WNBA history forever.
Collier told the media she had prepared a statement. I immediately thought, Oh no, she is hurt badly. Will she miss the season?
Instead, Collier proceeded to articulate the WNBA leadership’s shortcomings. She used examples of officiating and player safety, as well as the lack of transparency. She highlighted comments Cathy Engelbert had said regarding the league’s star players. Collier systematically tore down the league in one of the most on-point and elegantly prepared remarks that may have ever been said about a sports league by a star player.
What did it all mean, what was Collier referencing, and why is this historic?
The full statement is in the video above. After the statement, my day changed. Everyone from Kevin Garnett to Mark Cuban noticed Collier’s statement. So did politicians, WNBA players, and NBA media members. It was a Kendrick Lamar halftime performance-level of attention-grabbing.
Collier began her statement by congratulating the Phoenix Mercury and setting the stage by saying that this “conversation is not about winning or losing.” She set the stage by saying the real threat to the WNBA is the “lack of accountability from the league office.” Collier continued by painting the picture using the lack of transparency and changes around officiating as an example of this on the league’s part.
She briefly paused, smiling as she caught her breath and apologized for being out of breath as she walked to the podium in her CAM boot, a moment of levity in a serious conversation that’s typical of Collier.
The officiating has been discussed at length over the past 72 hours, since Cheryl Reeve’s ejection in game three of the semifinals. Still, the league has been in a tough spot. Until recently, they have not had the financial ability to invest in full-time officials, and have been using primarily NCAA and G-League officials with relatively little experience.
However, as the league has become more marketable and public attention has increased, the officiating has become a source of controversy.
Their experience allows some games to be taken over by the players, and the physicality can escalate to the point of being borderline dangerous. The officials seem to enforce the rules one way in one game and completely differently by other officiating crews. It has led to an outcry for transparency, which the league has provided relatively little of. There is no public database for officials, the league doesn’t post game trends, and the officials’ reviews after games are kept solely by the league.
After pausing to take a breath, Collier continued her statement by highlighting the league’s main talking point in CBA negotiations, which is “sustainability.”
Collier highlights that officiating is a threat to sustainability. She mentioned that fans, coaches, players, and media call on the league to make changes, but the league never makes discernible changes. Collier calls the league’s actions of fining players and coaches, while ignoring the problem, “negligence.”
Her statement was the first chapter of Collier’s history-changing story, which she was telling the public. The WNBA ignores problems that seem to be apparent.
The second chapter was more personal. Collier spoke about the meetings she had with Engelbert over the last winter. She detailed disparaging remarks Engelbert said about Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Collier herself. Collier mentioned bringing up salary structures for rookie deals, and in a truly audacious answer, recalled Engelbert’s response.
“Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the W gave her, she wouldn’t make anything,” Collier recalled Engelbert saying.
“In that same conversation,” Collier continued, “she told me players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights I got them.”
Engelbert offered a written response publicly that did not deny what Collier accused her of saying.
Collier’s third and final chapter of the press conference highlighted that after her injury, Engelbert didn’t reach out to Collier, which is truly baffling. Collier was second in MVP voting and a face of the league.
It also touched on the human aspect and a deeper belief that the league doesn’t appear to support its players. Collier closed with a powerful final sentiment.
“We have the best players in the world, we have the best fans in the world, but right now we have the worst leadership in the world,” she said. “If I didn’t know exactly what the job entailed, maybe I wouldn’t feel this way, but unfortunately for them, I do.”
As a player who is a face of the league, universally respected and liked, Collier likely changed history in the WNBA with her statement. The co-head of the players’ union publicly outed a commissioner. The NBA equivalent would be something like Stephen Curry outing Adam Silver. In the NFL, my best guess is that Josh Allen is going after Roger Goodell.
Collier did the unthinkable, but it’s hard to take issue with anything she said.
The WNBA’s collective-bargaining agreement with the players’ union is approaching fast, and Collier laid out the surface-level issues perfectly. However, there is much more to these discussions than meets the eye: player health, pensions, salaries, revenue sharing, housing, medical care, retirement, team facilities, free agency, drafts, and the list goes on.
Over 90% of the league is on a one-year contract and will be a free agent this winter. With so much uncertainty, Collier guaranteed one thing. She’s not just upset about losing the 2024 Finals. She’s upset about the whole system. With the players’ union, fans, and most of the media behind her, Collier is establishing leverage in the CBA negotiations.
