The uneasy truce between the Minnesota Lynx and the WNBA never really healed after last season’s officiating debacle, and Napheesa Collier’s late-season injury only deepened the rift. What might have been a clean slate after a strong 2025 campaign instead ended in fresh bitterness. By the time Collier sat down for her exit interview, frustration with the league office had already been simmering among players and coaches. But now, Collier has ended her exit interview with a statement, which has put the league commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, in a hot seat, all the while insisting that the actual frustrations began way before this game or that injury.

Still reeling from the Lynx’s semifinal exit at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury, Collier delivered a sweeping indictment of the league’s leadership. Talking about her husband and the way he runs Unrivaled, she said, “I have the privilege of watching my husband run a league where he has to balance 100 different things at once. I won’t pretend the job is easy. But even with all that on his plate, he always takes the time to reach out to the players when he sees an injury. Whether it’s Unrivaled or even during the WNBA season. That is what leadership looks like. It’s the human element. It’s basic integrity, and it’s the bare minimum any leader should embody. This year alone, I’ve got calls, texts, and wishes from so many players across the league. Those moments remind me that sometimes there are things bigger than the results of this game we play.”

But Collier said she never received that kind of respect from Engelbert. “You know who I haven’t heard from? Cathy. Not one call, not one text,” she said, adding that the only outreach came from Engelbert’s deputy telling her agent that the commissioner didn’t think physical play contributed to injuries. “That is infuriating and it’s the perfect example of the tone-deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders always seem to take.” The frustration has been building for more than a year.

The wounds from the 2024 WNBA Finals, when the Lynx fell victim to a controversial officiating error that cost them a championship, had never fully healed. With the Lynx surging again this season, Collier’s injury in the semifinals against Phoenix felt like salt in that wound. She later revealed she tore “a couple ligaments” and “a shin muscle” in her ankle during Game 3, an injury that sidelined her for the rest of the series. Collier didn’t stop with her own case.

She delivered a sweeping indictment of the league’s overall direction. “We have the best players in the world, we have the best fans in the world, but right now we have the worst leadership in the world,” she said. “The real threat to our league isn’t money, it isn’t ratings or even missed calls or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.”

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Her remarks also touched on fines and the silencing of player voices. The Lynx played Game 4 without head coach Cheryl Reeve, who had been suspended for her tirade against officials after Game 3. Collier noted she fully expects to be fined herself. “Anything with free speech will be fined now,” she said. “Our leadership’s answer to being held accountable is to suppress everyone’s voices by handing out fines. I’m not concerned about a fine, I’m concerned about the future of our sport.”

According to Collier, attempts to address problems privately have gone nowhere. She recalled a conversation from February during Unrivaled’s inaugural season, when she asked Engelbert about the state of officiating. “Her response was, ‘Well, only the losers complained about the refs.’”

She also cited Engelbert’s dismissive stance on salaries and revenue distribution. “I asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin [Clark], Angel [Reese] and Paige [Bueckers], who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years,” Collier said. “Her response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful to make $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.’ In that same conversation she told me players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them. That’s the mentality driving our league from the top.”

For Collier, the issue is bigger than wins and losses. “Since I’ve been in the league, you’ve heard the constant concerns about officiating and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates. Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is a lack of accountability from our leaders.”

Her words echoed far beyond Minneapolis, drawing support from coach Cheryl Reeve and many fans — and forcing the WNBA to release an official statement in response. But even that reaction rang hollow for critics, since Engelbert didn’t deny any of the specific instances Collier laid out.

WNBA Releases Statement After Napheesa Collier’s Statements

Shortly after Collier’s blistering comments, Engelbert responded with a statement in which she expressed that Collier’s depiction of their discussions and the league’s leadership left her “disheartened.”

“I have the utmost respect for Collier and for all the players in the WNBA,” the statement read. “Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league. My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game. I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”

Notably, Engelbert did not comment on the specific assertions Collier made, such as the “on their knees” remark, nor did she address the claim that she told Caitlin Clark to be “grateful” for the WNBA platform because, without it, her off-court earnings would be much lower. The fallout from Collier’s bold call-out will be closely watched, and it remains to be seen how the league and its players will navigate the tension moving forward.