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Indiana Fever Star Caitlin Clark was drawn in controversy this week after WNBPA -Vice President Napheesa Collier claimed that league commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the former Iowa star should be “grateful” for the platform that the league gives her during a conversation about wage problems.
The allegations got Clark’s teammate, Sophie Cunningham, to shoot back on social media and call Engelbert “the most lost leader” in Wnba history.
In this September 29, 2019, Photo, Wnba Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks at a news conference before Game 1 of Basketball’s WNBA final between Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
The controversy began this week when Collier on Tuesday read a statement ahead of members of the media and raised concerns about the “lack of accountability from the league office.” In his remarks, Collier remembered an alleged conversation with Engelbert, where the Commissioner made condescending comments regarding the player’s concerns.
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“I sat opposite Cathy and asked how she planned to tackle the official problems of our league,” Collier said. “Her answer was, ‘Well, only the losers complain about the judges.”
“I also asked how she planned to solve the fact that Players like Caitlin, Angel [Reese] and Paige [Bueckers]Obviously, massive revenue for the league does so little in their first four years. Her answer was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful that she earns $ 16 million from the field, because without the platform that WNBA gives her, she would not earn anything.’
“And in the same conversation, she told me ‘players should be on their knees and thank their lucky stars for the Media Law Agreement as I got them.’ It is the mentality that drives our league from the top.
Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, after she is selected as the No. 1 total election of Indiana Fever in 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York, April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)
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Engelbert’s alleged comments got a feverish guard Sophie Cunningham, who also got his season shortened due to injury to defend his teammate on social media.
“People only know Cathy because of C…. She is the most misleading leader our league has seen,” Cunningham wrote in a comment on a post on Instagram.
Clark has not commented in public about Collier’s statement, but during the all-Star Break this last season, she and other players had black T-shirts with a message reading “Pay us what you owe us.”
Indiana Fever Guard Sophie Cunningham (8) responds to Phoenix Mercury during a WNBA game at the PHX Arena on August 7, 2025. (Mark J. Refilas/Imag images)
The message supported the players’ attitude towards compensation in the midst of the ongoing negotiation agreement (CBA) negotiations. Players’ Association and WNBA accepted an eight-year deal in 2020, but last year WNBPA voted to opt out of the agreement early.
The current agreement will expire on October 31st.
