WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will step away from the league’s top job at the end of the season, closing a tenure marked by rapid growth as well as a string of controversies.
The league announced Friday that Engelbert has chosen to retire, a decision that follows rising pressure from critics who had called for a change in leadership.
Her exit comes after several turbulent seasons for the WNBA, including public backlash over the handling and treatment of Caitlin Clark, along with heated debate over transgender athletes that has fueled sharp divisions around the league.
“Over the years, it has been amazing to watch WNBA players thrive and lead the massive cultural surge around women’s sports,” Engelbert, 61, said in a statement.
“I retire knowing we have built something bigger, stronger and more enduring than we could have imagined. I am grateful to the WNBA and NBA team owners and staff, players, investors, fans and the powerhouse league office staff, who believed in what this league could become. I retire with immense gratitude and tremendous optimism for the future of the WNBA, with the best yet to come.”
Engelbert is currently in her seventh season as commissioner. Her existing contract had been due to run through the end of the 2026 season.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is set to retire at the end of the season
The WNBA has faced scrutiny over the treatment of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark
Yet, while her seven-year tenure has seen the league experience what she branded ‘hypergrowth,’ it has also been marred by numerous controversies.
Her leadership has come into question in recent months amid increasing discontent in league circles over her response to emerging crises, according to ESPN.
However, Engelbert insisted that the decision to step away was solely her own and that she did not face pressure from WNBA stakeholders.
‘When I first came to the league I intended to do this for three and a half years,’ she told The Associated Press. ‘The seven and a half years exceeded that time. This is a really good time given the financial transformation journey we’ve been on. Getting the collective bargaining agreement done, getting a long-term media rights deal done, getting expansion done.’
The decision comes just five months after the commissioner oversaw the introduction of a historic Collective Bargaining Agreement with the WNBA Players’ Association following length and tense negotiations.
The deal greatly increased stars’ salaries with million-dollar players – a first for the league – after the WNBA witnessed exponential growth in revenue, TV rights and viewership following the arrival of Clark as the 2024 No 1 overall pick.
However, the deal hasn’t eased the pressure of Engelbert with the chief facing increased protests and calls for her to retire throughout the course of a tumultuous season.
Most recently, Engelbert has come under fire after Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham sparked a firestorm surrounding transgender eligibility in the league.
Englebert’s leadership has come into question in recent months amid increasing discontent
The decision comes after Sophie Cunningham sparked a firestorm over transgender athletes
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Cunningham spoke out about ‘protecting young girls’ competing in women’s sports, but faced a huge backlash, including from opposing coaches, with Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wearing a ‘Trans kids belong’ T-shirt when the two teams met.
The Fever guard has been met with boos at most games while protests and counter demonstrations supporting her have become commonplace at games around the country.
At one game, fans wearing T-shirts supporting her stance were told to cover them up by league security in an incident the WNBA later admitted ‘shouldn’t have happened.’
Engelbert has faced huge criticism for her handling of the issue, which has seen the WNBA’s eligibility policy challenged by two former NBA players attempting to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Despite that effort, the league taskforce recently met to discuss trans eligibility and concluded: ‘There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.’
Engelbert hit back at the criticism last month as she addressed the controversy for the first time publicly, suggesting that the league is being tarnished by those with very little interest in the product.
‘We’re being the center of political football for people who have never watched the WNBA, never have written about the WNBA or reported on the WNBA,’ Engelbert said.
She is in her seventh season in charge and her contract is expiring at the end of the season
Protests have broken out ahead of multiple Indiana Fever games following Cunningham’s take
‘People are trying to use the league to sow divisiveness. There’s always going to be haters out there and we denounce it. The vitriol has got to stop against our players.
‘There’s always going to be haters out there and we denounce it. But that’s what happens when you have made it as a legitimate sports media and entertainment product.’
Meanwhile, Engelbert’s leadership has also faced questions over the treatment of Clark – arguably the WNBA’s biggest superstar – in the league.
Clark has found herself at the center of multiple foul storms again this season. The former No 1 pick has been subjected to controversy ever since being drafted into the league in April 2024.
This season alone, she has been punched in the throat and slammed to the court on two separate occasions, leaving battered by physical confrontation and the commentary surrounding it. Alyssa Thomas and Chelsea Gray both said they revealed vile abuse and death threats in the wake the fouls on Clark.
The WNBA’s lack of reaction to the fouls on Clark has sparked a firestorm directed at the player, officials and the league for what some believe is a routine failure to protect the Indiana superstar.
Fever star Caitlin Clark was punched in the throat by Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas
A group of 11 Republican lawmakers even wrote a letter to Engelbert this week demanding that the WNBA Commissioner take ‘accountability’ for the ‘multiple attacks’ on Clark.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has also previously taken aim at the league office over player welfare and labor negotiations, calling for greater accountability as the current collective bargaining agreement nears its conclusion.
She also faced criticism in July for cancelling an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, while playing in the celebrity golf tournament, the ACC Championship, in Lake Tahoe, despite initially agreeing to appear on the show.
During the NBA Summer League in July, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver praised the WNBA’s growth but remained noncommittal when asked if the NBA or WNBA Board of Governors had addressed the Commissioner’s long-term future.
