Napheesa Collier Reportedly Cancels Cathy Engelbert Meeting After WNBA Criticism

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has cancelled plans to meet with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert next week, Kendra Andrews and Ramona Shelburne reported for ESPN.

Collier publicly criticized Engelbert in a Tuesday exit interview. She texted the commissioner afterward to say she was "open to meeting with her next week," per Andrews and Shelburne.

Engelbert then denied some of Collier's claims in a Friday press conference that one source told Andrews and Shelburne has "pretty much pushed the relationship beyond repair."

As of the time of the report, a WNBA spokesperson told Andrews and Shelburne that Collier had not yet told Engelbert about her decision to cancel.

Collier initially told reporters Tuesday, shortly after suffering an ankle injury that sidelined her for the Lynx's final playoff game, that she had concerns about WNBA officiating which had previously been addressed in a private conversation with Engelbert.

In that conversation, Collier said Engelbert had told her "only the losers complain about the refs."

Collier also said she had asked Engelbert if the league had plans to increase rookie compensation to popular WNBA stars like Caitlin Clark.

"Her response was, 'Caitlin should be grateful. She makes 16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything,'" Collier said Tuesday. "In that same conversation, she told me, 'Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.'"

When asked about the purported comment regarding Clark on Friday, Engelbert said, "Obviously, I did not make those comments... There was a lot of inaccuracies reported out there, and I certainly did not say that."

Engelbert also mentioned her text conversation and previously scheduled meeting with Collier on Friday when she said she felt "confident that we can repair any loss of trust" with players.

The meeting cancellation comes with under a month remaining until the WNBA's Oct. 31 deadline to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with its players union. Collier serves as a vice president of the union's executive board.