OT: - Napheesa has her say on WNBA leadership | The Boneyard
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OT: Napheesa has her say on WNBA leadership

Good for her. The people who actually make the money for the league need to join together with one voice during the CBA negotiations. If the officiating doesn't improve in equally measure to the salaries, sit out the season. I'm sure Unrivaled would be happy to expand and take over their role. Can you imagine what a co-op, player-owned league could look like? I'm all for it. Watching them fumble the Sun negotiations is bad enough, let Lasry and some other hedge fund owners back a real league.
 
It’s about time one of the biggest stars of the league stood up! Very proud of Phee! The W is truly bad! Officiating, style of play, political agendas, and especially leadership! I only hope she can get some backing from her fellow players!
 
Englebert's response was pretty weak-kneed, in sharp contrast to Napheesa's passionate and powerful statement.

So Phee has now painted Engelbert into a corner. She has thrown her under the proverbial bus for all to see and has basically dared Engelbert to fine her.

If Engelbert lets it slide, as I think she will, she will be hard pressed to fine others who will inevitably come out of the woodwork throwing haymakers at her.

If she does impose a fine or other penalty on Phee, she will look very petty and vindictive. No win situation.

Well played, Phee!
 
Huskee11 said:
Englebert's response was pretty weak-kneed, in sharp contrast to Napheesa's passionate and powerful statement.

So Phee has now painted Engelbert into a corner. She has thrown her under the proverbial bus for all to see and has basically dared Engelbert to fine her.

If Engelbert lets it slide, as I think she will, she will be hard pressed to fine others who will inevitably come out of the woodwork throwing haymakers at her.

If she does impose a fine or other penalty on Phee, she will look very petty and vindictive. No win situation.

Well played, Phee!
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Beyond whether Engelbert fines Pheesa or not, the heat is also on Engelbert relative to the new CBA, as well as taking steps to deal with the physical play/refereeing in the W.
 
So Englebert has a whole bunch o' problems. Coaches are lining up behind Reeves, players and fans behind Phee, the Aces investigation has gone nowhere, and the Sun debacle is making her look bad in the public's eye. Time for her to grow up and realize the problems exist and to just deal with them, instead of weak-speak.
 
Even before Phee's bombshells, I thought the league was in a weak position.

The huge growth of the league, the amount of new cities fighting and positioning themselves for a team, the viewership, interest, attendance, player endorsements (let's be clear - many of these had NOTHING to do with being in the WNBA - Paige, Cait, Juju, and many others had tons of NIL deals before even getting into the W - yeah I know Juju is not there yet).

This seems to be the best time the players have ever had to band together and push the league for what they want. We heard months ago that the WNBA was trying to eliminate Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited. Shame on Engelbert and the rest of the leaders of the WNBA. I'm not "rooting" for a strike, but if the players don't get everything they want, then screw the W.

Sit out next season and see how the W enjoys that. Expand Unrivaled and AU and let the owners take HUGE losses for no season. The players will be just fine. And I saw on the other board that the "NBA would never allow a competing women's basketball league". OK NBA - then step up and pressure the WNBA to get off their collective asses and do right by the players.
 
I'm glad MVPHEE stood up. Not did she only stand up for self, But she stood up for the entire league. If you're a fan the way I am of the Minnesota Lynx you could tell that there was a shift in the officiating of the Minnesota Lynx, the second half of the season. I believe the levy finally broke with Coach Reeves and Phee. Even in defeat their is Grace, Class and Elegance. Power to the UCONN Way.
 
So who exactly is Englebert's boss? If it is the team owners, then the pressure is now on them. Yes of course they are mostly concerned with their profits and not raising salary and benefits in this new bargaining agreement enough to jeopardize that, but they can't be oblivious to the growing concerns.

The everyday fan already believes the players are getting screwed financially. The initial rookie scale contracts for the media stars that have driven an increase in attendance and TV ratings clearly puts fans on the player's side. Englebert's negative reaction to Unrivaled and of course Phee reeks of vindictive behavior by the face of a monopolistic entity that feels it can dictate terms.

The ref controversy is just one more piece of a variety of things shedding a very bad light on the commissioner and now the owners. I believe the majority of fans probably believe play has gotten too physical, and that is beyond the injury factor, it just isn't as good basketball to watch.

The owners may be relatively insensitive to outside criticism, but they can't ignore it completely. In the near future big name players, coaches, and media personnel may take a stand here, and if it is overwhelmingly against Englebert, with few supporters, they will have to make a change to save face IMO.
 
oldhusky said:
So who exactly is Englebert's boss? If it is the team owners, then the pressure is now on them. Yes of course they are mostly concerned with their profits and not raising salary and benefits in this new bargaining agreement enough to jeopardize that, but they can't be oblivious to the growing concerns.

The everyday fan already believes the players are getting screwed financially. The initial rookie scale contracts for the media stars that have driven an increase in attendance and TV ratings clearly puts fans on the player's side. Englebert's negative reaction to Unrivaled and of course Phee reeks of vindictive behavior by the face of a monopolistic entity that feels it can dictate terms.

The ref controversy is just one more piece of a variety of things shedding a very bad light on the commissioner and now the owners. I believe the majority of fans probably believe play has gotten too physical, and that is beyond the injury factor, it just isn't as good basketball to watch.

The owners may be relatively insensitive to outside criticism, but they can't ignore it completely. In the near future big name players, coaches, and media personnel may take a stand here, and if it is overwhelmingly against Englebert, with few supporters, they will have to make a change to save face IMO.
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Engelbert is an accountant, having spent 33 years at Deloitte, rising through the ranks to become CEO before making a major career change to become the commissioner of the W. Obviously, she’s concerned with the bottom line. While she basically works for the owners, Engelbert can not ignore the concerns of the players, the fans and the sponsors. It’s a difficult balancing act, which Engelbert appears to be struggling with.
 
To be clear, Engelbert has helped create a great deal of value for the owners. However, she clearly has not prioritized player relationships as part of her plan. Had she focused on that part of her responsibilities, perhaps Unrivaled might have been structured differently to include some ownership by WNBA investors or the WNBA itself. A major missed opportunity. The success of Unrivaled and its salary and benefits structure with its resultant impact on theWNBA my be Engelberts undoing.
 
oldude said:
Engelbert is an accountant, having spent 33 years at Deloitte, rising through the ranks to become CEO before making a major career change to become the commissioner of the W. Obviously, she’s concerned with the bottom line. While she basically works for the owners, Engelbert can not ignore the concerns of the players, the fans and the sponsors. It’s a difficult balancing act, which Engelbert appears to be struggling with.
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The very top-down hierarchical machinations replete with fines and anonymous leaks does scream Big 4, which is how Engelbert operates. That Engelbert seems insensitive as EDD and Napheesa allege doesn’t surprise me either.

No doubt Engelbert has presided over a period of rapid growth in professional women’s basketball. She has taken the position of being G_d &1 in such growth, when probably anyone more relatable and compassionate could have done the same.

On officiating, Geno says the current wretched state of play comes from the top. That’s certainly possible. But given current context, it certainly sounds like the most likely &2 explanation.

&1 How do you negotiate with someone with a G_d complex?

&2 Referees who swallow their whistles are not penalized. The rewards-punishment system does look like puny carrot, puny stick that’s probably also designed for bare minimum standards in a gig job where retention is a problem.
 
Engelbert was effectively fired by the Deloitte partners three years into her four year term as CEO. Then the wnba brought her on board.
 
Sifaka said:
Engelbert was effectively fired by the Deloitte partners three years into her four year term as CEO. Then the wnba brought her on board.
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Technically, she was not “renominated” by the partners for a 2nd term…… 😉
 
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