Yahoo Sports Daily host Jason Fitz provides an update on Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s planned meeting following Engelbert’s recent press conference. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV.
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Video Transcript
The big report, Nafisi Collier, you see it right there, has canceled her meeting with WNBA commissioner Kathy Englebert.
Now, remember, Nafisi Collier, a Paralympic superstar in the league, used her platform last week to speak loudly against the leadership of the WNBA and the problems with that leadership.
She also took that moment to make specific allegations of things that Kathy Englebert said to her about players and the gratitude they should have for the platform the WNBA has.
Kathy Englebert then spoke at the podium on Friday and all eyes were on it.
In fact, I think more people in my life were watching a live WNBA press conference than I can ever remember because everybody wanted to see what the commissioner had to say.
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And it’s interesting because while she took the time to say, hey, if leadership needs to be better and we need better communication, that’s on us to provide it.
She did acknowledge those things.
She also made it clear that the things she was accused of saying to Nafisi Collier she did not say.
She wouldn’t go into any detail, but she said that she has a family and seeing the things that she said or accused of saying hurt her heart and her family.
She took that moment to say it was being mischaracterized.
Now, we don’t have any specifics on how it was being mischaracterized or what exactly was mischaracterized because that wasn’t given.
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But I think the hope for most of us is that a meeting in person between Englebert and Nafisi Collier would provide some sort of relief and movement forward.
In this entire process.
Instead, because of what was said on Friday, Nafisi Collier has decided she no longer wants to have that meeting and only is doubling down on the fact that the relationship is beyond repair.
This is all broken, and I will remind you that the collective bargaining agreement is up October 31st.
We are only weeks away from true labor issues with the WNBA.
Now, it will be during the offseason, and maybe we won’t be paying attention.
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But what we are paying attention to right now is it is very clear.
Then Nafisi Collier has decided to use her voice and her platform in a way she believes will better the league moving forward, and the stars of the league continue to line up side by side with her and back what she is saying.
It is clear that what Kathy Englebert said did not help any of that.
And it is clear at this point that the relationship is absolutely broken.
Can they get it fixed in time to get any meaningful negotiations?
Only time will tell.
But in the meantime, we’ll all have our eyes on whether or not they can fix a fractured relationship.
