Cathy Engelbert is not a vibe. She doesn’t text players on their birthdays. She ignores legends when they retire. When social media trolls attack, she goes radio silent. WNBA superstars openly admit they have no relationship with her. She is, by all accounts, a terrible hang.
Ask her a direct question, and she turns into Neo dodging bullets. Her public relations skills are atrocious.
But who cares?
She is paid to run a business, not host a slumber party. It is time to stop demanding emotional labor from a sports commissioner. Neither Engelbert nor her eventual successor will ever tuck the players in at night.
Adjust your expectations.
Sure, NBA boss Adam Silver knows how to dap up players. He sends Candace Parker Christmas gifts. Engelbert doesn’t. Sabrina Ionescu talks to Silver more than her own commissioner. A’ja Wilson only sees Engelbert when there is a trophy to hand over.
So what?
Engelbert’s job is to shield the owners—the people who actually write her checks—from criticism. Why aren’t we asking Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia why he didn’t protect his players from online abuse? Because Engelbert takes the heat instead. That is what she is paid for.
She might not hug draft picks like Roger Goodell. But she secured a media rights deal worth over $3 billion with Disney, NBC Universal, and USA Sports. Yes, the 16 percent equity sale in 2022 looks cheap now. But that is because the league’s value skyrocketed under her watch.
She won’t invite reporters to her house like NWSL chief Jessica Berman. But she did deliver a historic collective bargaining agreement. It features a revenue-sharing model projected to pump $1 billion into player salaries and benefits over seven years.
Under her tenure, the average WNBA salary jumped 450 percent. It went from $130,000 in 2020 to $600,000 today. In professional sports, cash is the only metric that matters. By that metric, she is killing it.
Her communication is awful. We all saw her fumble that 2024 CNBC interview, pivoting to TV ratings instead of condemning the racist abuse aimed at Angel Reese. We know she reportedly called players “losers” for complaining about refs. She even played the gender card when asked about her performance. It was embarrassing.
But commissioners are not camp counselors. They are corporate suits hired to protect billionaires and raise capital. Rob Manfred called the World Series trophy a “piece of metal,” and MLB players hated him for it. But baseball kept making money.
The WNBA is a cultural lightning rod. When Alyssa Thomas fouls Caitlin Clark, the internet explodes. When Sophie Cunningham talks about trans athletes, the culture wars ignite. When trolls harass Chelsea Gray, it is disgusting.
But a commissioner cannot police the internet. Teams have coaches, general managers, and PR departments to protect players. The league office is not a therapy clinic.
The WNBA is finally a massive, lucrative business. It is time to start treating it like one. Stop looking for a best friend at the top. Look at the bank account instead.
