Napheesa Collier stands by criticism of WNBA leaders but says ‘future is bright’

On Tuesday night at Unrivaled Media Day, league co-founder Nafisa Collier spoke with reporters virtually for the first time since her final interview at the end of the season Minnesota Linkswhen she delivered a sharp pre-written opening statement calling out WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert for her disdain for players and declaring that the WNBA has “the worst leadership in the world.”

These comments, made after the Lynx's semi-final loss to Phoenix Mercury in the playoffs went viral and sparked widespread discussion about WNBA officiating, CBA negotiations and Engelbert's future as league commissioner.

“I definitely didn't expect it to blow up the way it did,” Collier told CBS Sports when asked about the reaction to her announcement. “I knew that people in our community would obviously see it, but I definitely didn't know that I would get this kind of support.”

When asked if her opinion of leadership has changed over the past couple of months, especially since the CBA negotiations heated up, Collier said no.

“I mean, nothing has changed since then, but I feel really confident in our PA and where we are domestically,” Collier said. “The conversation has already taken place. I think people see that change is necessary. They come from very different directions, and many people think so. And I think we're just really excited about the future and what it has in store for us, and especially with all these different leagues coming up, the Unmatched, our CBA negotiations, the future seems so bright. I feel good about it.”

The current WNBA CBA was set to expire on October 30, but the WNBA and WNBPA agreed to two extensions, with the most recent CBA extension until January 9. Season two of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league founded by Collier and a fellow WNBA star. Brianna Stewartstarts on January 5 and lasts until March.

With many WNBA players participating in Unrivaled and the entire league being based in Miami, Unrivaled is expected to be the site of many CBA discussions and, if and when a new CBA is signed, the center of WNBA free agent action. Last season, Unrivaled featured a conversation between Engelbert and Collier, which Collier went public with in a September statement.

This past February at Unrivaled, I sat down across from Katie and asked how she planned to address the officiating issues in our league. Her response was, “Well, only losers complain about judges.” I also asked how she plans to correct the fact that players like Kaitlyn, Angel and Paige, who are clearly huge money makers for the league, are making so little in their first four years. Her response was, “Kaitlyn should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything.”

In the same conversation, she told me: “The players should be on their knees and thank their lucky stars for the media rights deal I gave them.” This is the mentality that leads our league from the top. We go into battle every day to protect a shield that does not value us. The league believes it has succeeded despite its players, not because of them.

Engelbert denied making such comments about Clark and said she was “disappointed in the way Nafisa characterized our conversation.” The two sides were scheduled to meet in person after the WNBA playoffs, but Collier canceled this meeting after Engelbert's denial.

The biggest dispute in the CBA negotiations concerns the distribution of income and wages. Players want to move this CBA from a model with a fixed salary and a salary cap that increases by a predetermined percentage each year, to a revenue sharing model that allows salaries to grow in real time with the business. The WNBA has included revenue sharing in its recent proposals and is proposing a salary cap of $5 million, down from the current $1.5 million, as well as a salary cap above $1 million. But because of restrictions the WNBA places on what can be included in revenue sharing, players will still receive less than 15 percent of the league's revenue. Athletic reported this week that the WNBPA's latest proposal would take about 30% of the league's revenue. Thus, as the new year approaches, both parties remain far apart.

However, Collier sounded optimistic Tuesday night, especially when asked about the unity of the players throughout this fight.

“I thought it was amazing. Just the buy-in from the players, the buy-in from the players, the unity where we all feel like we're in lockstep with what we want and what we're willing to do to get there,” Collier said. “I don’t think there is fatigue. Obviously there's frustration with both sides trying to get what they want, but I think we still have that fire in us and we're willing to do whatever it takes and we're going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve.”