Napheesa Collier made major headlines when she blasted WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in her 2025 season exit press conference. The Lynx star called out Engelbert and the league for not addressing important issues popping up year after year in the WNBA; for example, issues with officiating.
Collier hadn't publicly spoken about her comments from last Tuesday until Monday night when she appeared on stage with former Vice President Kamala Harris at a book event. Harris asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to: Why did Collier call out Engelbert and the WNBA? In summary, she was fed up about not seeing any changes.
"I am on the union for our CBA negotiations, like our collective bargaining negotiations for our league, and for so long I felt like I saw what was going on behind closed doors," Collier said. "For so long, we tried to have these conversations and move the needle in those meetings that we would have with the league within our leadership. And I saw nothing was changing. 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. ... Whether I was going to get annihilated for this or people were gonna support me, I felt like what I was doing was right. I felt like it needed to be said, so no matter the consequences, I felt like it was something that needed to be done.
Napheesa Collier discussed the matter in conversation with former VP Kamala Harris in Los Angeles Monday evening.
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Collier was supposed to meet with Engelbert next week, but the Minnesota star has since canceled the meeting after Engelbert denied making comments about Caitlin Clark as described by Collier in her explosive exit interview. Engelbert's denials have "pretty much pushed the relationship beyond repair," ESPN reported. For context, Collier claimed Engelbert told her in a private conversation in February that "Caitlin should be grateful" for the WNBA and that "players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them."
The WNBA Players Association is currently negotiating with the league for higher salaries and increased revenue sharing, among other topics, in a new collective bargaining agreement. The deadline for the two sides to come to an agreement is Oct. 31, with the possibility of a lockout looming ahead.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Napheesa Collier Addresses Why She Blasted Cathy Engelbert, WNBA in Exit interview.
