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Cathy Engelbert did not receive a warm welcome in Phoenix on Friday night.
The WNBA commissioner arrived on the court to present the Finals trophy to the Las Vegas Aces, but was quickly greeted with boos.
An assistant in the crowd was even seen giving the middle finger as Engelbert spoke to congratulate the Aces.
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WNBA Commissioner Catherine Engelbert speaks to the crowd after the Las Vegas Aces won game four of the 2025 WNBA Playoff Finals at the Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 to win the championship. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“Well, today we are here to celebrate a champion. Thank you to all the fans. Phoenix had a great run to get here, and I just want to congratulate the Aces on their performance, 2025 WNBA champions,” Engelbert said amid continued boos.
The Aces, despite completing the sweep for their third title in four years, looked visibly uncomfortable, and Finals MVP A’ja Wilson showed a worried look.
Engelbert has received a lot of backlash recently, as the commissioner allegedly made dismissive and condescending comments about players’ concerns. Napheesa Collier also claimed that Engelbert said Caitlin Clark “should be grateful that she’s making $16 million off the court, because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”
Collier also alleged that Engelbert told him: “The players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal I got them.”
“When you have great players, you have to treat them like that, and that’s from top to bottom,” Aces guard Chelsea Gray said after the game.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presents the Most Valuable Player award to A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces after winning Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals at the Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The WNBA NEEDS CAITLIN CLARK MORE THAN THE LEAGUE NEEDS, SAYS SPORTSCASTER DAN PATRICK
Wilson shared her displeasure with Engelbert earlier this month, saying she was “disgusted” with Engelbert’s comments. Wilson played a tambourine to celebrate Gray’s comments Friday.
Addressing the alleged comments about Clark, Engelbert denied making them.
“Obviously, I didn’t make those comments. Caitlin has been a transformative player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought tens of millions of new fans to the game,” Engelbert said at a news conference last week.
Clark said the league is in a “moment we need to take advantage of.”
“I think for me, and I’ve said this many times, it’s all about relationships, and that’s the truth,” Clark said last week. “And I know that’s very hard to say in professional sports. But whether it’s a relationship with the front office, whether it’s a relationship with the commissioner of the league, whether it’s a relationship with your teammates, that’s the most important thing in leadership.”
Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected as the number one overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
The current WNBA collective bargaining agreement ends on October 31.
