Cathy Engelbert will retire at the end of the year after seven years as WNBA commissioner — but a new commentary argues the league’s historic growth happened on her watch, not because of her. The piece, published by The Daily Wire and written by Jennifer Sey, a former national champion gymnast and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, paints a damning portrait of a commissioner who “failed” to lead even as Caitlin Clark transformed the league’s fortunes.
Engelbert, who reports to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, oversaw a period of unprecedented expansion in women’s basketball. Arenas are selling out, viewership is at record highs, and jerseys worn by Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark rank alongside top-selling NBA jerseys. But Sey argues that Engelbert did not merely fail to promote Clark — she actively avoided doing so, fearing backlash from players who resent Clark’s outsized role in the league’s success.
“A commissioner paid to grow a product is supposed to put what people actually want at the center of the strategy,” Sey writes. “She did the opposite. She would not lead with Clark because too many players resent that Clark is the star, and she did not want to make the locker room mad.” Sey labels this a “fiduciary abdication” from a leader earning nearly $3 million a year — a salary benchmarked to Engelbert’s previous role as CEO of Deloitte.
Critics have also accused Engelbert of failing to protect Clark from excessive physicality on the court. Weak officiating and insufficient punishments have allowed “pile-ons” to continue, Sey contends, even as the league office tries to appease players who are hostile toward the Fever star.
Collier’s Claims Add Fuel
The criticism isn’t just external. Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier publicly called the league’s leadership “the worst leadership in the world,” citing tone-deafness and an obsession with control rather than fixing persistent refereeing issues. Collier also alleged that Engelbert told young stars like Clark they should be “on their knees” with gratitude — a claim Engelbert denies. Sey says she believes Collier, noting she has seen similar attitudes from countless corporate executives.
“All this weakness to appease players who don’t want Clark as the face of the league — and who cannot stand Engelbert anyway,” Sey writes. “Perhaps just take a stand and do the right thing. If you’re disliked, at least be able to look yourself in the mirror. Grow a spine.”
Failure to Define “W”
Beyond Clark, Sey criticizes Engelbert for refusing to define what the “W” in the WNBA stands for during a defining cultural moment for women’s sports. Instead of providing clarity, Engelbert reportedly told league leaders, “We’ll engage key stakeholders” — a classic consulting dodge, Sey argues, one she attributes to Engelbert’s Deloitte background.
“Consulting firms specialize in never quite deciding,” Sey writes. “Fancy PowerPoint decks. Stakeholder engagement. Recommendations that, if they work, belong to the consultant and, if they fail, belong to the client who ‘didn’t execute.'”
Sey contrasts Engelbert’s approach with that of the WTA, which drew a clear line to protect women’s tennis and largely earned player support. “That is what the $3 million is for: do the hard thing,” she writes.
Despite the leadership failures Sey describes, the WNBA has grown dramatically — and she credits that growth squarely to Caitlin Clark. The Fever guard has filled arenas across the country, drawn massive TV ratings, and become a cultural phenomenon in ways the league office never managed to engineer.
“The league grew anyway,” Sey concludes. “No thanks to Cathy. All thanks to Caitlin.”
Engelbert’s departure at year’s end comes amid mounting pressure from the league’s Board of Governors, with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver likely having initiated the change, according to Sey. Neither Engelbert nor the WNBA office has publicly commented on the retirement announcement beyond the initial statement.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-caitlin-clark-built-the-wnba-and-cathy-engelbert-failed-it