00:00Whether the league cares about the health of the players is one thing, but to also not care about
00:04the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing
00:09that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders. Accusations from one of the WNBA's
00:14biggest stars directed at Commissioner Kathy Engelbert and her leadership team. Nafisa Collier
00:20spoke out about everything from officiating to ongoing CBA negotiations with the league.
00:26She did not hold back.
00:30Collier spoke on Tuesday during her player exit interview, two days after the Minnesota
00:36Lynx were eliminated from the playoffs by the Phoenix Mercury. The five-time All-Star relayed
00:41a conversation she had with Engelbert back in February when she asked the commissioner
00:46about starting salaries for young players Kaitlyn Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Beckers. She also
00:52asked how the league was going to fix ongoing officiating issues.
00:56Her response was, well, only the losers complain about the refs. I also asked how she planned
01:02to fix the fact that players like Kaitlyn, Angel and Paige, who are clearly driving massive
01:06revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years. Her response was,
01:11Kaitlyn should be grateful she makes $60 million off the court because without the platform that
01:15the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything. And in that same conversation, she told me players
01:21should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.
01:27That's a mentality driving our league from the top.
01:29Collier, the league MVP runner-up the last two seasons, is also vice president of the WNBA Players
01:35Union and will sit across the table from league representatives during the upcoming CBA negotiations.
01:42She's also the co-founder of the off-season three-on-three league Unrivaled, which will begin its second
01:48season January 5th. Collier sat out the final two games of the Lynx playoff series with an ankle
01:54injury, suffered in a collision with a Mercury player during game three. No foul was called on the play.
02:00Collier said ignoring the ongoing officiating issues is negligence on the league's part.
02:06Just hearing over and over and over again, we have the best refs in the world. We don't have a problem.
02:11You know, none of the injuries are due to physicality and the way that we're reffing.
02:14It's an insult to my intelligence, honestly.
02:16Collier's comments came just hours after the league announced a new multi-year media rights deal with USA Network.
02:23The news was not lost on the Lynx star.
02:25They cry that they don't have enough money to pay the players, that they don't have the
02:28sustainability to pay the players when they're selling teams for $300 million, when valuations
02:33are going up to almost half a billion dollars. It doesn't make sense to us. It's why we're
02:38fighting so hard in our CBA and what we're going to continue to fight for.
02:41Commissioner Engelbert responded to Collier's comments in a statement saying she has the
02:46utmost respect for Collier and all of the players in the WNBA.
02:51My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA,
02:56including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game.
02:59I am disheartened by how Nafisa characterized our conversations and league leadership,
03:04but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.
03:10The league's collective bargaining agreement with the players expires on October 31st. If there
03:15isn't a new deal before then, the league could lock out the players until an agreement is reached.
03:21For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.
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