It’s open season on WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham is making sure she gets her licks in too.
After Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier made some extremely pointed marks about the league and its leadership, both Caitlin Clark and her Indiana teammate have now gone on-record that the women of the W deserve better when it comes to this important moment in the WNBA’s history.
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Taking to her “Show Me Something” podcast, Sophie went in on Engelbert. Saying that she’s “fed up” with the direction the league has been going in under the commissioner’s watch.
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) looks on during the second half against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Cunningham: ‘Cathy, no one cares’
Sitting down with co-host West Wilson, Cunningham spoke at-length about her issues with the WNBA in its present form.
“At the end of the day, everyone’s fed up — fed up with how the league is treating us. They should be ashamed of themselves for what they’re giving back to us because it’s nothing. It is nothing. They’re not listening. The thing is, they’re not even engaging with us. It is bad,” Sophie said.
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“And I get it, she’s the business side of it. Like, I get it. But you can be respectful and treat your product — the product of why people are paying attention, why people are buying certain jerseys — treat your product with respect,” Cunningham continued. “Like, be a great leader. She’s not. She’s not in any sense. The disrespect is just crazy to me.”
“I think this just such a pivotal point in the WNBA because there’s so many eyes on us, there’s so many new fans — there’s millions of millions, I should say, of new fans — and at the end of the day she’s worried about her. In all of her statements it’s like, ‘Well, I got us here and I—,’ Cathy no one cares. Literally, no one cares.”
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Engelbert denies Collier’s accusations
Speaking to the media on Friday, Engelbert addressed the comments made by Minnesota’s five-time All-Star forward in which she claimed the commissioner said in private that Clark should be “grateful” she makes what she does off the court because she’d be nothing without the WNBA.
“Obviously, I did not make those comments,” Engelbert said, via ESPN.com. “Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game.”
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“There’s a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all this reporting,” she added. “A lot of reporting, a lot of inaccuracy about what I say, what I didn’t say.”
Something tells us this back-and-forth between the commissioner and her players is far from over and ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith has even gone as far as saying that Engelbert should resign from her post as the head of the league.
Time will tell what ultimately happens with Engelbert’s career, but clearly there’s a lot of animosity between the W’s athletes and those that call the shots in the boardrooms.
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This story was originally reported by The Spun on Oct 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
