WNBA: Uncertain future after Finals, CBA and refereeing crisis

Las Vegas Aces Conquer the WNBA and Unleash a Whirlwind of Questions

The WNBA season came to an end with the crowning of a new dynasty: The Las Vegas Aces won their third title in four years. However, the final series, and the entire postseason, was marked by high tension and expectations. This atmosphere could intensify, as the league faces one of its most challenging pre-seasons. The WNBA has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, with records in attendance, ratings, investments, and franchise valuations. However, the lasting transformation and the impact of these achievements are the questions that concern the league, its players, and stakeholders. The WNBA and the WNBPA are in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, which could lead to a work stoppage. In addition, Cathy Engelbert’s future as commissioner is in doubt, after Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier criticized the WNBA’s leadership, calling it “the worst… in the world.” Added to this is the attention placed on the league’s response to concerns about officiating, which were evident during the postseason. A survey conducted by Alofoke Deportes among team owners, executives, players, and other sources in the sports industry, inquired about the impact of the recent turmoil, as well as the imminent deadline of October 31st for the collective bargaining agreement, and what all this implies for the league at the most crucial moment in its history.

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

One of the most impactful images of the WNBA season was the booing that Engelbert received from the public in the Phoenix stadium during the presentation of the Aces championship trophy. A smaller group of fans continued the protests as she left the court.

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

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

Team Executive

Tensions escalated throughout the WNBA season, with players and coaches expressing their frustration with the officiating and the intensification of collective bargaining negotiations. However, the conversation focused specifically on Engelbert during the WNBA semifinals. On September 26, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected after angrily protesting an uncalled foul on a play where Collier was injured. Reeve criticized the league’s officiating in a harsh post-game statement, which earned her a fine and a one-game suspension. In her post-elimination interview with the Lynx, Collier denounced the WNBA’s leadership and revealed 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 make 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 stated that there were “many inaccuracies” in the comments attributed to her by Collier and denied having made the specific statement about Clark. However, Engelbert acknowledged: “If the W players do not feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we must improve, and I must improve.”

However, the commissioner has the primary task of representing the owners, not the players, amid negotiations such as those for the collective agreement. Several team owners expressed their discontent with Engelbert’s leadership to Alofoke Deportes. “If I had a vote,” said an owner, “I would probably ask for a replacement.” A major leadership change seems unlikely while collective agreement negotiations continue, and Engelbert stated to reporters at the Finals that “he has never been a person who gives up.”

“If she’s fired now, it’s a sign of 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.” The frustration with Engelbert encompasses several areas: that the issues raised to the commissioner and the league office, such as arbitration, often go unresolved; that some of Engelbert’s business decisions, such as raising $75 million in capital in 2022 which sold a 16% stake in the league, could have complicated the WNBA’s ownership structure and hindered the league’s growth; and the way Engelbert interacts and communicates with others.

“I believe in Napheesa’s comments,” said one of the mentioned 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 the owners in questioning things, there can be some of that dismissive tone.

Owner

“Collective bargaining negotiations and other negotiations are always difficult, but I think it wouldn’t have been so confrontational if there had been a little better dialogue and relationship building. And I don’t know at this stage if that’s repairable or not.” Engelbert’s role is different from that of most major sports leagues, as 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 crushed by that.”

Industry Person

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 team executive. “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 fixed, 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 contentious 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 team executive. “But if he can repair relationships with certain people, which can be done, it can always be done, and a good collective agreement can be achieved, then yes, I think he can [stay]. It’s not going to be easy.

Team executive

“… 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 business level? And if so, then there will be a real path ahead.”

“A disruption of activities benefits no one”: The state of collective bargaining negotiations

Discrepancies and unrest in the WNBA seem to be related to the collective bargaining agreement 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 country’s biggest sports stars, Indiana Fever player Clark, was a high school senior in Iowa. Nobody knew 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 agreement for the 2026 season to take place. The current agreement expires on October 31, but that deadline is not absolute; both sides agreed to a 60-day extension before the 2020 agreement, and that is expected to happen again.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen for Halloween,” said a WNBA source. “[But] in the end, a disruption of activities doesn’t benefit anyone. I don’t know exactly how far people have moved away. 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

However, Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray told Alofoke Deportes that negotiations “are not where we thought and wanted them to be at this moment. It’s market share, it’s salaries, it’s player safety, it’s everything.” One of the biggest points of conflict seems to be the distribution of income and whether the percentage of the players will remain static during the term of the next collective agreement or will increase during it. Fever forward Brianna Turner told Alofoke Deportes that ensuring charter flights, which were introduced for all WNBA travel near the start of the 2024 season, are 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 increasing the size of rosters (currently set at 12 players) might also be necessary, pointing to the five season-ending injuries the Fever had this season as an example. A league source told Alofoke Deportes that WNBA owners who are affiliated with NBA teams and those who are not may have different priorities during collective bargaining negotiations.

“I think there are some teams that view it as a business level, which means 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 results? Often, that comes down to how people think about their business, as an investment versus an actual day-to-day business.”

League source

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 is still not that strong. 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

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

Coach Nate Tibbetts pointed out all the things that went wrong on the court in his press conference after the Phoenix Mercury’s Game 4 loss and the WNBA Finals sweep. But as he sat at the podium after the decisive game last Friday, he had another complaint: the officiating. 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 from the Finals. Two of their players, Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner, also received 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 he deserved it at all… It was bullshit.”

Nate Tibbetts

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

“My first problem with the arbitration isn’t the referees, it’s that it isn’t provided with resources from the arenas in which we play, not having a replay center,” he said to Alofoke Deportes. “That is a fundamental [resource], I believe, that objectively must be changed.”

Team executive

The executive pointed to the WNBA arenas in Dallas, Connecticut, Chicago, and Atlanta as problems: those courts don’t have the same technology and camera angles as other markets that are considered crucial for calling a game correctly. The team executive also said that a report of the last two minutes is needed as in the NBA to establish transparency and credibility with the referees, as well as a replay center to review the calls in real time.

“I just don’t think [the WNBA] is as operational, both in terms of resources and structure, and all that leads to a lack of transparency, which leads people to think there’s a lack of accountability,” said the team executive.

Team Executive

A source from the league told Alofoke Deportes that there is no higher level of physical play and that the referees let the teams 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.”

League source

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 there. 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 put into 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 very difficult job and the level of talent is not 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 WNBA 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 WNBA 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 training in the G League, the marginal contact is going to look very different there than in a professional women’s game.” A league source told Alofoke Deportes that a three-pillar evaluation 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 referee also receives a mid-season and end-of-season review. The WNBA will not punish referees 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 is addressed, sources said.