ESPN Analyst Forecasts When Cathy Engelbert Could Be Fired From WNBA
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been subject to a ton of criticism from the women's basketball community (including both fans and players) for quite some time. But these feelings have intensified as a result of the ongoing negotiations for the league's next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), given that Engelbert is the face of the league office in these negotiations.
But it isn't just interactions at the negotiation table that have players irked. Engelbert hasn't done a good job building relationships with players and has antagonized herself with several (alleged) comments that Napheesa Collier has called attention to in several interviews over the past couple of months.
Because of this, there's a growing belief that Engelbert's job could be in jeopardy. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon alluded to this during a November 12 interview with CNBC by saying, “I've only had a few private conversations with Cathy. To me, her private conversations that she's had with players, or her lack of the conversations, have led to some rocky relationship status with the players... I don’t know if [Engelbert] can ever, kind of, retract and get that traction back from those conversations.
"I would say they’re probably going to look for a change in leadership. I just think it might be too fractured at this point. But we'll see," Hammon added.
ESPN's Elle Duncan Addresses Cathy Engelbert's Future
ESPN analyst Elle Duncan was the guest on a November 18 episode of the Dan Le Batard Show, and was asked when Engelbert might be replaced as WNBA commissioner.
"I do believe [Engelbert being replaced is] coming. I do not believe anything is going to happen until they can get this new CBA ratified, because that's ridiculous to have someone in high-level conversations, and then to bail right when we're actually reaching critical time in the space, I think is asinine," Duncan said.
"So I don't anticipate any change happening before then. But I do anticipate a change coming," she added.
Duncan went on to note that the biggest issue with Engelbert's situation is that, while it's common for commissioners of major sports leagues to be disliked by fans and players, those other commissioners (she used NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as an example) are liked by team owners.
But there's nothing to suggest that WNBA team owners like Engelbert, which means they likely wouldn't have her back or try to keep her around if faced with pressure from players to replace her.
This sentiment certainly does not bode well for Engelbert's future.
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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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