WNBA’s Cathy Engelbert plays gender card when asked about her future at draft
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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been under the spotlight for nearly a year as the league navigates a stressful collective bargaining process ahead of the start of the 2026 season.
Engelbert addressed the media Monday night as the WNBA Draft took place. His answer to a difficult question drew the reaction of reporters and fans on social media.
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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks at the WNBA basketball draft in New York on April 13, 2026. (Pamela Smith/AP)
She was asked about her future as commissioner and responded by playing the gender card.
“I understand how everyone focuses on me, and you should focus on the hundreds of amazing women and thousands of women who run this league besides me,” she said. via USA Today. “I also appreciate you focusing on me. By the way, I wonder if you would ask this of a man, but I’ve noticed that as women, we are asked different questions than men.”
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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks ahead of the WNBA basketball draft on April 13, 2026 in New York. (Pamela Smith/AP)
Some social media users, including columnist Jemele Hill, acknowledged that she would get the same question if she were a man.
Engelbert is in an exclusive club of female commissioners of professional sports. Jessica Berman is the commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League. Meanwhile, commissioners in other leagues face tough questions at their own press conferences at key moments of the year.
But Engelbert took the brunt of the criticism of the CBA negotiations. Players called on the league to pay its players more during a demonstration during the WNBA All-Star Game.
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier accused the WNBA of having the “worst leadership” heading into the 2025 season.
Still, Engelbert remains the WNBA’s commissioner, most recently through the CBA. He added on Monday night that the CBA still had to be finalised.
She also said the league is looking to the future and hopes the league can take the WNBA overseas, whether it’s a regular season or exhibition game.
UCLA center Lauren Betts poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected fourth overall by the Washington Mystics in the first round of the WNBA draft on April 13, 2026 in New York. (Pamela Smith/AP)
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“We are looking at this intensively,” Engelbert said. “Of course there’s the FIBA World Cup this year. We’re hoping to do something outside of North America next year as a truly global game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
