Earlier this month, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier unleashed a scathing critique of the WNBA and its commissioner, Cathy Engelbert. Now, Collier is pulling the curtain back on why she used an exit interview to air out a list of grievances.
The Minnesota star recently sat down with Former VP Kamala Harris and shared her feelings about the entire relationship with Engelbert and the league. Collier said that for a long time, she saw what was going on behind the scenes and tried to have conversations behind closed doors with the WNBA’s leadership.
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“I saw nothing was changing,” Collier said. “Coaches, winning and losing alike, were complaining about the same things over and over again ― players over and over again ― and we weren’t seeing a change. that our leadership was trying to make. I think I just got to the point where I was fed up.”
Here’s the exchange between Collier and Harris:
Following Collier’s explosive comments about the WNBA, Engelbert responded just ahead of the WNBA Finals. She didn’t directly address all of the items the Minnesota forward spoke about, but the commissioner said she had the “utmost respect for Collier and players in the WNBA.”
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However, later she would deny making comments about Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark that Collier alleged during her exit interview. ESPN reported that the Lynx forward subsequently cancelled an upcoming meeting with Engelbert and according to Maxwell Millington of Axios, Collier now has “nothing further to say”.”For her to start her speech saying she has the utmost respect for me … and then to turn around and call me a liar three minutes later … I think it just speaks to that lack of accountability.”
It’s unclear what may happen between Collier and Engelbert, but for now, the relationship is certainly not on great terms.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Napheesa Collier revealed why she torched the WNBA, Cathy Engelbert
