WNBA: Uncertain future after Finals. Is there a crisis in the league and is Engelbert in the spotlight?

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 won their third title in four years. However, the final series and the entire postseason were marked by high tension and betting. Now, the league faces one of its most challenging pre-seasons. The WNBA has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, with records in attendance, viewership, investment, and franchise valuation. The big question is how this success will translate into transformative and lasting change. The league, the players, and other key players are grappling with this question. In this context, the WNBA and the WNBPA are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, which could lead to a strike. In addition, Cathy Engelbert’s future as commissioner is in question, following criticism from Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who called the WNBA’s leadership “the worst in the world” in an explosive exit interview. The league will also need to address the significant concerns about officiating that came to light during the postseason. Alofoke Deportes has gathered information from team owners, executives, players, and other industry sources to analyze the tensions of the last few weeks and what they mean for the league at this crucial moment in its history.

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

One of the most impactful images of the season was the booing Engelbert received at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix during the presentation of the Aces’ trophy. A small group of fans continued the protests as he 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, it’s a death spiral,” commented an executive from a team.

Team Executive

Tensions mounted throughout the season, with players and coaches expressing their frustration with the refereeing and the intensification of collective bargaining negotiations. The situation focused on Engelbert during the semifinals. On September 26, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected after angrily protesting an uncalled foul on Collier, who was injured in the play. Reeve strongly criticized the officiating in a post-game press conference and was fined and suspended for one game. In her exit interview, Collier denounced the WNBA’s leadership and revealed private conversations with Engelbert. Collier stated that Engelbert said Caitlin Clark “should be grateful. She earns $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. Engelbert, in her speech before the first game of the Finals on October 3, stated that there were “many inaccuracies” in the comments attributed to her by Collier and denied having said the specific phrase about Clark. However, she acknowledged that “if the players do not feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to improve, and I have to improve.”

However, the commissioner’s primary task is to represent the owners, not the players, in negotiations such as those for the collective bargaining agreement. Several team owners expressed their dissatisfaction with Engelbert’s leadership to Alofoke Deportes. “If I had a vote,” said one owner, “I would probably ask for a replacement.” A major leadership change seems unlikely while collective bargaining agreement negotiations continue. Engelbert affirmed 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.” Frustration with Engelbert encompasses several aspects: 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 by selling 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 terms of questioning things, there can be a 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 little better dialogue and relationship building. And I don’t know at this stage if that is repairable or not.”

Engelbert’s role differs from that of most major sports leagues because she also answers 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 greatest growth we’ve seen not only in the WNBA, but in any sports league in history. But it has 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 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 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 sensationalistic 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 individuals, 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 won’t be easy.

Team executive

“…This collective agreement will end in the next three, four, or five months, so, can momentum be created with them on a personal level and also on a business level? And if so, then there will be a real path forward.”

“A strike doesn’t benefit anyone”: The state of collective bargaining negotiations

Discrepancies and problems 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 country’s biggest sports stars, Clark, was a senior in high school in Iowa. Nobody knew the 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 is not absolute; both parties agreed to a 60-day extension before the 2020 collective bargaining 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 strike 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

However, Las Vegas Aces point 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 player safety, it’s everything.” One of the most contentious points seems to be the distribution of income and whether the percentage of the players will remain static during the duration 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, 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 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 look at it at a business level, what it means for team appreciation 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? Often, that comes down to how people think about their business, as an investment versus a real 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 is 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 they mess up the momentum right now, they are 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 Refereeing Crisis in the WNBA

Coach Nate Tibbetts pointed out all the things that went wrong on the court in his press conference after the Phoenix Mercury’s loss in Game 4 and the WNBA Finals sweep. But as he sat at the podium after last Friday’s decisive game, 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 I 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 controversy over officiating. Players, coaches, and executives across the league have pointed to the referees’ lack of consistency, as well as the level of physical play 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 pavilions in which we play, to not having a replay center”, they said to Alofoke Deportes. “That is a fundamental [resource], I think, that objectively needs to be changed”.

Executive of a team

The executive pointed to the WNBA pavilions in Dallas, Connecticut, Chicago, and Atlanta as problems: those courts do not have the same technology and camera angles as other markets, which are considered crucial for correctly calling a game. The team executive also said that a Two-Minute report is needed, as exists 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.

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 physical play within which they want to play.

“They innovate the game,” the source said, “and [the referees] are just trying to implement it.”

League source

Not everyone believes that 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 make mistakes, it’s very hard work 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 economics.

“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 feel 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 will be addressed, sources said.