Conversations with “more than 20 stakeholders” in and around the WNBA suggest that, for as much business growth Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has overseen, she is “not the right person to navigate the demands the league currently faces and what its stakeholders now need,” according to Alexa Philippou of ESPN.com. Multiple team sources told ESPN that “they believe the 2026 season likely will be Engelbert’s last.” Sources said that Engelbert has “failed to develop sufficient relationship equity, not just among players but also owners and upper-level management” despite vowing nine months ago to address leadership concerns. One owner said, “I don’t see any change” since Lynx F Napheesa Collier’s comments. Stakeholders from multiple constituencies across the league cite Engelbert’s “style and approach as problematic,” while others believe “accessibility, communication, transparency and synergy between the league and teams are persistent hurdles.” Multiple longtime team officials “suggested the league hire someone -- under Engelbert or the next commissioner” -- in the mold of former chief of basketball operations and player relations Renee Brown, “who served as a bridge between the league office and its teams and players.” Several team officials pointed out that “10 or 20 years from now, Engelbert’s legacy might be viewed favorably.” But even those more inclined to defend Engelbert acknowledge “it’s a different landscape and a job with more complex requirements than what she first assumed in 2019” (ESPN.com, 7/24).
CONNECT TO PLAYERS: In Chicago, Alissa Hirsh wrote Engelbert “plans to text the players more.” But the plan to “institute more frequent communication,” as the former Deloitte CEO put it, stuck out. The knock on Engelbert, who is facing “mounting public criticism from league insiders, is that her relationship-building needs work.” Engelbert “is embattled,” but she presided over a “remarkable transformation: a league once on the margins, now fully mainstream.” There is “plenty to like about her legacy. If only she’d thought to institute the Texting Initiative a little sooner” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/25). SI’s Emma Baccellieri wrote Engelbert has “presided over growth that would have been unthinkable when she assumed the position.” Yet she has “never quite been able to come across as anything other than beleaguered” (SI, 7/25).
ALL-STAR APPEARANCE: USA TODAY’s Fin, Henderson, Hall & Northam wrote when it was time to hand out the All-Star MVP Trophy on Saturday, Engelbert was “met by a chorus of boos from the record-breaking crowd at the United Center.” Engelbert has faced criticism from both players and fans for the league’s handling of “online abuse, officiating and player relations.” Engelbert “didn’t do herself any favors during her annual All-Star game news conference, where she dodged questions about her job stability and league transparency” (USA TODAY, 7/26). CBSSPORTS.com’s Lindsay Gibbs wrote for the second season in a row, the league’s marquee event “has been overshadowed by conflict between the league’s front office and players.” This year, the conflict is “much more self-inflicted.” The weeks leading up to All-Star have been “marred by missteps and miscommunications.” Engelbert has helped forever change the trajectory of the WNBA and women’s sports as a whole, and Gibbs believes “that if she steps aside soon, history will remember her tenure fondly.” But while busy activating brands and holding bottom lines, Engelbert has “overlooked other important parts of her job, such as building relationships with the fans, the media and, most importantly, the players” (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/25).
IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION: THE ATHLETIC’s Candace Buckner writes for all that Engelbert “lacks in warmth, she seems to be doing the one thing that she’s paid to do well.” And that is to be the commissioner of a “major, growing and prosperous professional sports league.” It is time to “stop adding new and superfluous job requirements to the job description for ’WNBA commissioner.’” The league does not “need a change at the top.” However, players, stakeholders and fans of the W “need to change their expectations.” The job of a commissioner, at the core, “is to protect the interests of the owners and raise capital for the league. Engelbert has done that” (THE ATHLETIC, 7/27).
DIFFERENT PRIORITIES: YAHOO SPORTS’ Cassandra Negley wrote there is a “clear disconnect between Engelbert and players,” despite an overall “thawing of tensions four months after signing a collective bargaining agreement.” It plays out in headlines, Instagram stories and social media posts because “this is a professional sports league, and conflict creates noise.” The conversation around Engelbert’s job status “continues to fester and will swirl for as long as she is in the role.” The boos at these events are a “monsoon now, though it is a storm that all major commissioners weather” (YAHOO SPORTS, 7/26).
GOING GLOBAL: During WNBA All-Star Weekend, Engelbert said that playing an exhibition or regular season game outside of North America is a “‘three-to-five’ year plan.” She noted the difficulty of the “short time frame to 2027″ followed by an Olympic year in 2028 that will condense the schedule (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/25).
