LAS VEGAS — Lynx star Napheesa Collier sat down in Minneapolis to read a statement excoriating WNBA leadership right as the Aces and Fever were going through shootaround in Vegas. Even in the hours before a critical Game 5 to advance to the WNBA Finals, the players were listening, with several expressing their support for Collier.
“It’s exciting to see players speak out and speak up about what’s going on in our league and where our league can go and changes that need to be made,” said the Fever’s Lexie Hull, who is one of the team representatives for the players’ union. “When it comes down to it, I think I agree with everything she said. We’re at a really important time in the league, and changes need to be made. And so you're seeing her talk about that and I’m really proud of her for making that statement.”
Napheesa Collier Full and unedited statement
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) September 30, 2025
I’ll have specific quotes after media is done pic.twitter.com/k3BlmTVmPh
In a four-minute statement at the start of her team exit interview, Collier directly criticized WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert for a “lack of accountability,” saying that poor officiating “has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates.” Collier was an MVP finalist. She is also the vice-president of the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association—which is currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement—and the co-founder of winter league Unrivaled. Her statement comes at a moment when the relationship between the players and the league is especially fraught.
Collier’s season ended with an injured ankle in the closing seconds of the Lynx’s loss to the Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals. The Lynx then went on to lose Game 4 without both Collier and coach Cheryl Reeve—who had been fined and suspended following an explosive press conference in which she ripped apart the officiating and criticized leadership for being too permissive about what she felt was excessive physicality. Her words hit on long-simmering frustrations across the WNBA.
Across the playoff bracket, in the other semifinal over the weekend, both Fever coach Stephanie White and Aces coach Becky Hammon said they agreed with Reeve. Both were fined. Asked on Tuesday about Collier’s statement, White did not offer specifics about officiating or leadership but did pay compliments to Collier.
“She understands,” White said. “She’s been a part of the PA and understands the business side of it, as well as the basketball side of it, and I’m thankful that we have strong women that are willing to say the things that matter, and say the things that will move the needle for change.”
The quality of refereeing has long been a contentious subject across the league. As viewership has spiked in the last two years, with the spotlight growing on the playoffs in particular, those frustrations have taken on a new level of urgency.
“I think it’s just being highlighted because everybody is watching the games right now,” Aces guard Chelsea Gray said on Tuesday. “Everybody’s watching and watching the officiating, and it’s not where it should be.”
As the league has grown, WNBA players and coaches have argued that refereeing has not been given the resources to keep up with the speed and quality of play. That has included suggestions to increase accountability with a Last Two Minute report, as is done in the NBA, or to introduce a replay center. Others have brought up referee training and recruitment.
“I think the messaging stands the same from the players’ perspective,” Hull said. “Things need to change, reffing needs to change, leadership needs to change. Our league is at a spot that it hasn’t been in the past 10 years—like, we’re growing exponentially, and we need change to mirror that.”
Collier’s statement also mentioned Fever star Caitlin Clark. The forward relayed a conversation with Engelbert in which she had inquired about the salaries of Clark and fellow young players Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. The base salary of all three is below $80,000 on their rookie scale contracts.
“At Unrivaled this past February, I sat across from Cathy and asked how she planned to address the officiating issues in our league. Her response was, ‘Well, only the losers complain about the refs.’ I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin, Angel and Paige, who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years. Her response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful that she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything,’ ” Collier said. “In that same conversation, she told me, ‘Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal I got them.’ That’s the mentality driving our league from the top. We go to battle every day to protect a shield that doesn’t value us.”
The Fever said that Clark did not have a comment.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Frustrations Around WNBA Officiating Have Officially Hit a Breaking Point.
