WNBA: League crisis, Engelbert’s future and key negotiations

Las Vegas Aces Conquer the WNBA: A New Chapter of Tension?

The WNBA season came to an end with the crowning of a new dynasty: The Las Vegas Aces secured their third title in four years. However, the background of the series, and of all the playoffs, was marked by high tension and expectations. This situation could intensify, as the league faces one of its most challenging pre-seasons. The WNBA has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, with an increase in attendance, television audiences, investment, and the value of franchises. The challenge lies in how to transform this growth into lasting and significant change, a question that the league, the players, and other stakeholders are analyzing. In this context, the WNBA and the WNBPA are in the midst of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, and the possibility of a work stoppage is latent. In addition, Cathy Engelbert’s future as commissioner is in question, after Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier criticized the WNBA’s leadership, calling it “the worst in the world” in an explosive exit interview. Attention is focused on how the league will respond to concerns about officiating, which reached its peak in the postseason. The survey conducted by Alofoke Deportes among team owners, WNBA executives, players, and other industry sources reveals the impact of the turmoil of recent weeks, as well as the imminent October 31st deadline for the collective bargaining agreement, and what this means for the league at the most crucial moment in its history.

“Change is essential”: Have the WNBA owners lost faith in Engelbert?

One of the most remembered images of the WNBA season was Engelbert being booed by the fans at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix during the presentation of the Aces trophy. A smaller group of fans continued the noise as she left the court.

Could this be the last time we see Engelbert as the WNBA commissioner?

“When you have that type of confrontation with your best players,” an executive from a team told Alofoke Deportes, “it’s a death spiral.”

Team Executive

Tensions escalated throughout the WNBA season, as players and coaches expressed their frustration with the officiating and collective bargaining negotiations intensified. However, the conversation specifically focused on Engelbert during the WNBA semifinals. On September 26, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected after exploding at the referees for a non-call on a play where Collier was injured. Reeve criticized the league’s officiating in a harsh post-game speech and was fined and suspended for one game. In her exit interview, a few days after the Lynx were eliminated, Collier denounced the WNBA’s leadership and revealed parts of private conversations she had with Engelbert. Collier stated that Engelbert said Caitlin Clark “should be grateful. She makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t earn anything” and that “the players should be on their knees, thanking the lucky stars for the media rights deal I got them.” A large number of WNBA players publicly supported Collier. In her speech to reporters before Game 1 of the Finals on October 3, Engelbert said there were “many inaccuracies” in the comments attributed to her by Collier and denied having made the specific statement about Clark. But Engelbert acknowledged: “If the W players don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better.” However, the commissioner has the primary task of representing the owners, not the players, amid negotiations such as collective bargaining talks. But several team owners informed Alofoke Deportes that they are also unhappy with Engelbert’s leadership. “If I had a vote,” said one owner, “I would probably ask for a replacement.” A major leadership change seems unlikely while collective bargaining negotiations continue, and Engelbert told reporters at the Finals that “I’ve never been a person who gives up.” “If you fire her now, it’s admitting weakness. It’s a terrible image for the league,” said another owner. “I can’t stand what Collier did. That was a private conversation. I don’t feel like firing her, although I think she should be fired.” Frustration with Engelbert encompasses several areas: that the issues raised to the commissioner and the league office, such as arbitration, are often not resolved; that some of Engelbert’s business decisions, such as raising $75 million in capital in 2022 by selling a 16% stake in the league, could have complicated the WNBA’s ownership structure and hindered the league’s growth; and in how Engelbert interacts and communicates with others.

“I believe in Napheesa’s comments,” said one of the aforementioned owners. “I think sometimes the focus of [Engelbert’s] message hasn’t always been conveyed well. … Whenever there have been some challenges, whether from the players or even from the owners in terms of questioning things, there may be some of that dismissive tone.

Owner

“Collective bargaining negotiations and other negotiations are always difficult, but I think they would not have been so conflictive if there had been a dialogue and a little better relationship building. And I don’t know at this stage if that is repairable or not.” Engelbert’s role is different from most major sports leagues because she also reports to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. When recently asked about the situation with Collier, Silver said that Engelbert “has presided over six years of some of the strongest growth we’ve seen not only in the WNBA, but in any sports league in history. But it’s become too personal.” “He’s done a lot for the league commercially; people forget how bad it was when he arrived,” said another industry person. “His time will end. I just think Adam is gutted by it.” In general, league sources who spoke with Alofoke Deportes agree that if Engelbert wants to stay, he must rebuild relationships and establish trust with the players.

“Change is essential,” said another executive from a team. “Either Cathy has to change the way she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role. It can be resolved, but some things have to change.”

Team Executive

The collective bargaining negotiations offer Engelbert a last chance to save his job. “It’s such a hot world that you ask that now and it’s like, of course, the answer is ‘no’ [Engelbert will not continue to be commissioned],” said another executive from a team. “But if he can repair relationships with certain individuals, which can be done, it always can, and a good collective agreement can be achieved, then yes, I think he can [stay]. It’s not going to be easy. “… This collective agreement will end in the next three, four, or five months, so, can momentum be generated with them on a personal level and also on a commercial level, and, if so, then there will be a real path to follow.” — Alexa Philippou

“A work interruption benefits no one”: The state of collective bargaining negotiations

Disagreements and unrest in the WNBA seem to be related to collective bargaining negotiations. The last collective agreement was agreed in January 2020, when Engelbert had been in office for about seven months. At that time, one of the biggest current sports stars in the country, the high school senior in Iowa, Clark, did not know how much impact it would have on the league’s finances and growth. Now, almost six years later, the league and the players’ union must sign a new collective bargaining agreement for the 2026 season to take place. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on October 31, but that deadline isn’t absolute; both sides agreed to a 60-day extension before the 2020 collective bargaining agreement, and that is expected to happen again.

“I don’t think it will be done for Halloween,” said a WNBA source. “[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn’t benefit anyone. I don’t know exactly how far apart people are. But, in general, when I’ve seen these things, usually, as the critical moment approaches, everyone gets a little closer and we can reach an agreement that is reasonable enough.”

WNBA Source

Even so, Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray told Alofoke Deportes that the negotiations “are not where we thought and wanted them to be at this moment. It’s market share, it’s salaries, it’s the security of the players, it’s everything.” One of the most contentious points seems to be the distribution of income and whether the percentage of the players from that would remain static during the term of the next collective agreement or would grow during it. Fever forward Brianna Turner told Alofoke Deportes that having charter flights, which were introduced for all WNBA travel near the start of the 2024 season, guaranteed in the new collective bargaining agreement is important, as is asking teams to continue paying for players’ housing during the season. Turner believes that roster sizes might also need to be increased (they are currently set at 12 players) and points to the five season-ending injuries the Fever had this season as an example. A source from the league told Alofoke Deportes that the WNBA owners who are affiliated with NBA teams and those who are not, could have different priorities during the collective bargaining negotiations.

“I think there are some teams that look at it at a business level, meaning the appreciation of the teams and the growth of the league,” the source said. “And there will be some teams that think of it as cash flow, and if I have this expense, what does it mean for my bottom line?

League source

“Often that comes down to how people think about their business, as an investment versus a real business day-to-day.” Another source said they expect the owners to be as unified in their negotiations as the players are.

“The players are very important. There’s no doubt,” said a league source. “But what they don’t understand is that this league isn’t that strong yet. It has a long way to go. So if you ruin the momentum right now, you’re playing with their livelihoods for future generations.”

League source

But the players feel they have heard those kinds of statements for too long.

“There is no growth without the players,” Gray said. “So why wouldn’t we do something that makes the players happy?”

Chelsea Gray

— Michael Voepel

“They’re Simply Not Good Enough”: The WNBA’s Refereeing Crisis

Coach Nate Tibbetts pointed out everything that went wrong on the court in his press conference after the Game 4 loss of his Phoenix Mercury and the WNBA Finals sweep. But as he sat at the podium after last Friday’s decisive game, he had another complaint: the refereeing. At the end of the third quarter, Tibbetts was assessed two quick technical fouls, making him the first coach in WNBA history to be ejected in the Finals. Two of their players, Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner, were also given technical fouls in the game.

“He’s weak, weak, weak,” Tibbetts said. “We were playing for our lives in the playoffs. … I didn’t feel like I deserved it at all. … It was bullshit.

Nate Tibbetts

“There have been problems with arbitration throughout the year.” Tibbetts’ comments were a fitting conclusion to a season defined by complaints and controversy over officiating. Players, coaches, and executives across the league have pointed to the lack of consistency from referees, as well as the level of physicality allowed. An executive from a team said those are valid concerns, but some of the problems have deeper roots.

“My first problem with the arbitration isn’t the referees, it’s that resources aren’t obtained from the arenas in which we play, until we have a replay center,” they told Alofoke Deportes. “That is a fundamental [resource], I believe, that objectively needs to be changed.”

Team executive

The executive pointed to the WNBA arenas in Dallas, Connecticut, Chicago, and Atlanta as problems: those courts do not have the same technology and camera angles as other markets that are considered crucial for correctly calling a game. The team executive also said that there should be a Two-Minute Report as there is in the NBA to establish transparency and credibility with the referees, as well as a replay center to review calls in real time. “I just don’t think [the WNBA] is as operational, both in terms of resources and structure, and all of that leads to a lack of transparency, which leads to people thinking there’s a lack of accountability,” said the team executive. A source from the league told Alofoke Deportes that there is no higher level of physical play, and that the referees allow teams to establish the level of physicality within which they want to play. “They innovate the game,” the source said, “and [the referees] are just trying to implement that.”

Not everyone believes that the physicality in the WNBA has increased much in the last five to ten years, but a different source from the league said: “Honestly, it’s like the NBA in the 80s and 90s. When the Bad Boys hit Michael Jordan, they had to change it. They got rid of handchecking. They got rid of a lot of things because people didn’t want to see it”.

There is also a clamor for more resources to be allocated to the training of referees.

“They’re simply not good enough,” said the team executive. “They have to keep improving and a lot of that comes from education and training. … They’re not trying to mess up, it’s just a really difficult job and the level of talent there isn’t at the level it should be.”

Team Executive

A league executive said that all WNBA and NBA referees train in the G League and then choose between moving to the W or the NBA. But according to an executive, referees tend to choose the NBA more often due to the economy.

“They make more money. There are 82 games versus 42 games,” the executive said. “That’s part of what the W is trying to figure out: how do we make sure the talent level is good across the board?”

League Executive

Another source added: “I hate to generalize at all, but if you’re being coached in the G League, the marginal contact is going to look very different there than in a women’s professional game.” A source from the league told Alofoke Deportes that a three-pillar investigation process determines its referees. After a review of each referee by WNBA officials, a panel of independent reviewers examines the referees and their work. Coaches can also submit feedback after each game via a WNBA text line. Each official also receives a mid-season and end-of-season review. The WNBA will not punish officials with fines or suspensions for a single error, but will evaluate their work throughout the season. If there is a common series of errors, that will be addressed, sources said.