There has been utter chaos in the WNBA ever since Napheesa Collier stood up against WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. For the players and fans, it has rather been the good kind of chaos, not so much for the WNBA leadership.
Engelbert has been under the cosh after Collier revealed some of the things the commissioner said about Caitlin Clark, other young stars, and the overall league. The revelation did not sit right with the fans. Engelbert was also displeased about Collier’s statement. Many WNBA players came out in Collier’s support. There was a certain solidarity among the players.
The most recent star to join the bandwagon is Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally. In a preseason interview, Sabally commented on NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s words on the matter. Silver called the whole issue “too personal.”
His comment did not sit right with Satou Sabally.
“It is personal. It is very personal because the WNBA wants to forbid us to make a lot of more money than we’re ever going to make here. What it seems like in other leagues. So, it’s very personal. People have families. This is our job. We make more money in China, Russia, Turkey than here. So, it is very personal and I don’t think why it shouldn’t become personal,” Sabally dropped a stern reply.
“I think it [prioritization] plays a big, big role. Players that don’t play a lot in the WNBA don’t have the opportunity to then get better in other teams, you need to play to get better and all that individual training and with the lack of resources, with the lack of resources to pay for, but then also to access in the offseason, you won’t get better. And a lot of young kids who have a lot of marketing opportunities, they will lean into that a little bit more,” she added.
Sabally also opined that Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart’s ‘Unrivaled’ was a great opportunity. She revealed that she earned more in 10 weeks of playing in ‘Unrivaled’ than she has in the entirety of her WNBA season. Sabally concluded, saying:
“So for me, there’s no question as to why um, why we should be able to play in other leagues unless the WNBA steps up.”
Adam Silver’s Take on Napheesa Collier Going Up Against WNBA Commissioner
After Collier’s scathing comments about Cathy Engelbert, there were a few who were not in Collier’s corner. There has been a growing rift between Engelbert and the league’s players, so much so that a lot of the players and fans have demanded Engelbert’s resignation. Amid the fiasco, the NBA commissioner recently broke the silence about the whole matter.
“Cathy Engelbert has presided over six years of some of the strongest growth we’ve not only seen in the WNBA but any sports league in history. But it’s become too personal and we’re going to have to work through those issues,” Adam Silver said.
Silver addressed how WNBA’s issues are not just economic, but there are also some relationship issues. He also mentioned that the WNBA has been going through “growing pains.”
Silver is confident that these issues can be fixed over time. He believes the leadership needs to sit down with the players and find a middle ground for the collective growth of both players and the league.
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