WNBA players leaning into very personal Cathy Engelbert battle

PHOENIX — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this week that the relationship between Cathy Engelbert and WNBA players was fractured because it became “too personal.”Then Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally made it abundantly clear exactly why that is. “It is personal,” she said Tuesday after practice.“It is very personal because the WNBA wants to forbid us to make a lot of more money than we’re ever going to make here, what it seems like in other leagues.”Silver chimed in earlier this week on the contentious CBA drama overshadowing the WNBA Finals, saying he’s confident a deal will be reached but acknowledged the relationship between Engelbert and players is in dire need of repair. “It’s become too personal,” Silver said Monday, “and we’re going to have to work through those issues.”Silver’s comments come after Napheesa Collier scorched the WNBA office for its lack of accountability and said it’s the “worst leadership in the world.”During her scathing statement, Collier also pulled the curtain back on a February meeting at Unrivaled, during which Engelbert allegedly made dismissive remarks toward players, including Caitlin Clark.Engelbert initially released a statement saying she was “disheartened” by the way Collier “characterized” those conversations. At a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals last week, Engelbert flat-out denied that she said Clark should be grateful for what she makes beyond her WNBA salary because “without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.” “Obviously, I did not make those comments,” said Engelbert, who called Clark a “transformational player” and “great representative” for women’s basketball.

“I’m not going to get into every point, counterpoint.It’s not productive here.”After Engelbert’s roughly 20-minute press conference, Collier canceled her meeting with the commissioner, according to multiple reports.Sabal...