The drama continues between Naphessa Collier and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Collier, who has been in the spotlight for her critical comments towards Engelbert, has reportedly cancelled her meeting with the commissioner next week, according to ESPN.
The proposed meeting came after Collier texted Engelbert that she was open to discussing the criticism around the league.
Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx reacts during the second half of Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at PHX Arena on September 26, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. Getty Images
A league spokesperson said Collier, 29, has yet to tell Engelbert that she intends to cancel the meeting, per ESPN.
Collier’s nixing of the talk with Engelbert comes just a day after the commissioner publicly addressed the explosive comments from the Lynx forward, echoed by other WNBA players, speaking out against Engelbert and league management.
Collier’s decision to cancel the meeting stems from the commissioner saying Friday the Lynx star’s description of the conversation was filled with inaccuracies, and it may have left their relationship “beyond repair,” according to ESPN.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert talks during a presser on Oct. 3, 2025 before Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals between the Mercury and the Aces. Las Vegas won Game 1 at home, 89-86. Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images“I was disheartened to feel that some players feel the league, and me personally, do not care about them or listen to them,” Engelbert told reporters ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday. “If the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better and I have to do better.
“We know how great these players are on and off the court and how much they mean to our league, our fans, and our communities. If they don’t feel that, I will do everything I can to change that.”
Engelbert also denied Collier’s claims that she said Caitlin Clark “should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”
Napheesa Collier during the second half of the Lynx’s Game 3 road loss to the Mercury on Sept. 26, 2025. Getty Images“Obviously, I did not make those comments,” Engelbert said. “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.”
In addition to Collier, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham attacked the WNBA’s leadership, saying that “they don’t know s–t about basketball.”
“I’m just tired of our league,” Cunningham told reporters Thursday. “Our leadership from top to bottom needs to be held accountable. I think there are a lot of people in positions of power in the WNBA who might be really great business people, but they don’t know s–t about basketball.”
