WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert faced the media, fans and players on Monday for her annual pre-draft press conference. Engelbert bristled when asked about her future as the league’s top executive. She pushed back following the inquiry by asking the reporter if she would have been asked the same question had she been a man.
The scene went viral, prompting fans to react. One fan wrote:
“NFL commissioner gets asked that every year. Always the victim.”
Another fan added:
“It’s always asked of men. Like, all the time.”
One more fan continued:
“(NBA Commissioner) Adam Silver is constantly questioned. … Why does she have to make this about gender?”
Another fan commented:
“(NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell is asked about his job security literally every year at the League Meetings.”
One fan tweeted:
“She’s playing gender politics like there wasn’t almost a lockout, a rival league started, and her leadership called out publicly by a player.”
The commissioners of other sports leagues are sometimes asked about their tenure. Engelbert seemed to be oversensitive after WNBA superstar Napheesa Collier slammed her last season. In early October, the Minnesota Lynx forward called Engelbert “negligent” and demanded accountability from her.
Multiple players backed up Collier following her press conference. Engelbert responded that she felt “confident” that the league could “repair any loss of trust.”
Cathy Engelbert’s statement wasn’t seemingly shared by the players. According to multiple reports, the strained relationship between the players and the commissioner was a big reason the CBA negotiations were contentious.
Engelbert refused to answer the question about her tenure as WNBA commissioner. She urged reporters to focus on the “hundreds of amazing men and women who run this league outside of myself.”
Cathy Engelbert Shares Her Thoughts on New CBA
After months of discussions that eventually ended in marathon sessions in March, the WNBPA and the WNBA agreed to terms for a new CBA. For the first time since the ratification, Engelbert shared her thoughts on the new player-league agreement:
“The interesting thing is, we all wanted the same thing for the players. So we all had our list. They all matched.”
Engelbert’s statement was an oversimplification of a process that nearly ended in a lockout. The executive added that the CBA was designed for the players and for the league’s “economic sustainability.”
Only time will tell if Engelbert will be the commissioner for the seven-year duration of the new CBA.
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