Napheesa Collier BLASTS WNBA League Office: 'Worst Leadership in the World'

New York Post

Watch Napheesa Collier BLASTS WNBA League Office: 'Worst Leadership in the World' - New York Post on Dailymotion

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00:00Thank you all for your time today. I have prepared a statement that I would like to

00:07make before taking any questions. Alright, so first of all I'd like to congratulate

00:14the Mercury for advancing to the finals and I want to be clear this conversation is not

00:18about winning or losing. It's about something much bigger. The real threat to our league

00:23isn't money, it isn't ratings, or even missed calls, or even physical play. It's the lack

00:28of accountability from the league office. Since I've been in the league, you've heard

00:33the constant concerns about officiating and it has now reached levels of inconsistency

00:37that plague our sport and undermine the integrity in which it operates. Whether the league cares

00:43about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put

00:47on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent

00:52is the lack of accountability from our leaders. Sorry, I had to walk you in my boot. I'm kind

00:57of breath. The league has a buzzword that they've rolled out as talking points for the CBA as

01:04to why they can't pay the players what we're worth. That word is sustainability. But what's

01:09truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose

01:13control of games. Fans see it every night. Coaches, both winning and losing, point it out

01:18every night in pre-game and post-game media. Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the

01:23other way. They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is

01:28negligence. At Unrival this past February, I sat across from Kathy and asked how she planned to

01:35address the officiating issues in our league. Her response was, well, only the losers complain

01:40about the refs. I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Kaitlyn, Angel,

01:45and Paige, who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first

01:50four years. Her response was, Kaitlyn should be grateful she makes $60 million off the court

01:55because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything.

01:59And in that same conversation, she told me, players should be on their knees thanking their

02:04lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.

02:08That's a mentality driving our league from the top. We go to battle every day to protect a shield

02:13that doesn't value us. The league believes it succeeds despite its players, not because of them.

02:20I have the privilege of watching my husband run a league where he has to balance a hundred

02:24different things at once. I won't pretend the job is easy, but even with all of that on his plate,

02:29he always takes the time to reach out to players when he sees an injury, whether it's unrivaled or

02:33even during the WNBA season. That is what leadership looks like. It's the human element. It's basic

02:39integrity, and it's the bare minimum any leader should embody. This year alone, I've gotten calls,

02:45texts, and well wishes from so many players across the league. Those moments remind me that

02:50sometimes there are things bigger than the results this game we play. But do you know who I haven't

02:55heard from? Kathy. Not one call, not one text, and said the only outreach has come from her number two

03:01telling my agent that she doesn't believe physical play is contributing to injuries.

03:06That is infuriating, and it's the perfect example of the tone-deaf, dismissive approach that our leaders

03:11always seem to take.

03:14I've finally grown tired. For too long, I have tried to have these conversations in private,

03:19but it's clear there is no intention of accepting there's a problem.

03:23The league has made it clear it isn't about innovation. It isn't about collaboration.

03:27It's about control and power.

03:30I've earned this platform, and I've paid the price to get here, and now I have a responsibility

03:34to speak on behalf of the fans and everyone in this league that deserves better.

03:37Our leadership's answer to being held accountable is to suppress everyone's voices by handing out

03:43fines. I'm not concerned about a fine. I'm concerned about the future of our sport.

03:49At some point, everyone deserves to hear the truth, from someone who I hope has earned the

03:53benefit of the doubt to fight for what is right and fair for our athletes and our fans.

03:57We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world.

04:01But right now, we have the worst leadership in the world.

04:03If I didn't know exactly what the job entailed, maybe I wouldn't feel this way.

04:07But unfortunately for them, I do.

04:10We serve a league that has shown they think championship coaches and Hall of Fame players

04:13are dispensable, and that's fine. It's professional sports.

04:17But I will not stand quietly by and allow different standards to be applied at the league level.

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