WNBA star Napheesa Collier doesn’t hold back while calling out commissioner

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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

00:13from one of the WNBA's biggest stars directed at Commissioner Kathy Engelbert and her leadership

00:19team. Nafisa Collier spoke out about everything from officiating to ongoing CBA negotiations

00:25with the league. She 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.

00:57Her 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 $16 million off the court, because without the platform

01:15that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything. In that same conversation she told me,

01:21players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that

01:25I got them. That's 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

01:35Players Union and will sit across the table from league representatives during the upcoming CBA

01:40negotiations. She's also the co-founder of the off-season three-on-three league Unrivaled,

01:47which will begin its second season January 5th. Collier sat out the final two games of the

01:52Lynx playoff series with an ankle injury suffered in a collision with a Mercury player during game

01:57three. No foul was called on the play. Collier said ignoring the ongoing officiating issues

02:03is negligence on the league's part. Just hearing over and over and over again,

02:08we have the best refs in the world, we don't have a problem, you know, none of the injuries are due

02:12to physicality and the way that we're reffing. It's an insult to my intelligence, honestly.

02:17Collier's comments came just hours after the league announced the new multi-year media rights deal

02:21with USA Network. The news was not lost on the Lynx star. They cry that they don't have enough money

02:27to pay the players, that they don't have the sustainability to pay the players when they're

02:31selling teams for $300 million, when valuations are going up to almost half a billion dollars.

02:36Like, it doesn't make sense to us. It's why we're fighting so hard in our CBA and what we're going

02:40to continue to fight for. Commissioner Engelbert responded to Collier's comments in a statement

02:45saying she has the utmost 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,

02:55including 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 isn't

03:16a new deal before then, the league could lock out the players until an agreement is reached.

03:22For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.

03:25Let's go.

03:27Let's go.

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