Adam Silver Gets Honest About 'Issues' Between Cathy Engelbert and WNBA Players
While the ongoing negotiations for the WNBA's next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) have already been one of the biggest stories in sports over the past few months (especially within the women's basketball community), everything that has happened regarding WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in the past week has put an even bigger spotlight on this entire affair.
Of course, this stemmed from Napheesa Collier's scathing criticism of Engelbert and the WNBA during her exit interview with the Minnesota Lynx last week. While there's no question that an underlying source of tension between Collier and Engelbert is the ongoing CBA negotiations between the league office and its players, much of Collier's comments were about Engelbert personally, rather than the CBA.
This shows that Collier has a deep disregard for Engelbert that seems to transcend anything that happens in the negotiation room. And given the support Collier has received from her peers, it's clear that she isn't alone in feeling this way.
Adam Silver Addresses Cathy Engelbert's Relationship with WNBA Players
While Engelbert might want to stick around, that decision isn't necessarily up to her. NBA commissioner Adam Silver is technically her boss and has the power to fire her if he so desires.
And Silver addressed everything going on with Engelbert and her players through remarks he made at NBC Sports headquarters that were included in an October 6 article by USA Today.
"Cathy Engelbert has presided over historic growth in the league, but there's no question that there's issues we need to address with our players," Silver said. "They're not just economic. There's relationship issues, as well. I'm confident we can fix those over time, and this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it's on right now."
Adam Silver on WNBA labor dispute: 'We will get a deal done' https://t.co/qXELpgZR6O👇👇👇
— Christian S (@ChristianS17048) October 6, 2025
He later added, "There's no question that the WNBA is going through growing pains, and it's unfortunate that it's coming just as their most important games in the finals are on right now. We've had two fantastic games so far and want to celebrate the game at the moment. And then we've got to sit down with the players and negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.”
When speaking about the ongoing CBA Negotiations, Silver said, “We will get a deal done with the players. Lots of work left to be done, but we'll, of course, get a new collective bargaining deal done."
Fans are hoping Silver's optimism rings true, or else there's a real risk of a lockout before the 2026 season begins.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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