WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s response to a question about her future on Monday drew a lot of reaction on social media. Engelbert wondered if her gender played a role in the issue being repeatedly raised, replying to a female reporter: “I wonder whether you would ask that of a man, by the way.”
- N.Y. Post’s Madeline Kenny (the reporter who asked the question of Engelbert): “To be clear: I would’ve asked this question to a man.”
- NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach: “Male pro sports commissioners get asked questions about their future all the time. Totally valid question — and a fascinating, super-defensive response.”
- Atlanta-based WCCN-AM’s Nick Cellini: “Rob Manfred, Roger Goodell, Gary Bettman, and David Stern were all asked that question many times over. Bud Selig too.”
- ESPN Radio’s Mark Zinno: “Male commissioners get asked about how long they want to stay in the job all the time. It happens to Goodell yearly.”
- ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski: “Gary Bettman gets asked this question so often that he’s taken to preemptively answering it before it’s asked.”
- WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti: “Adam Silver has literally been asked this. It’s also a fair question to her based on how polarizing she is in her league.”
- Fried Egg Golf’s Kevin Van Valkenburg: “I mean, we asked Jay Monahan some version of this for three years.”
- Reporter Annie Costabile: “Objectively speaking, not only is Cathy wrong—this would be asked of a man and has—but her response was a failed attempt at diverting from the discussions about her job security.”
- The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill: “If a man had her track record, absolutely.”
- Reporter A.J. Perez: “Just answer the question, Engelbert. You made WNBA Draft too much about you with this unnecessary response. I’ve seen this video and similar posts just as much as picks and analysis on here” (SBJ).
