Host claims WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert canceled interview as Caitlin Clark controversy mounts
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert canceled an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show,” the host announced during his show on Friday. Both Engelbert and Patrick are at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Nevada.
Patrick said the meeting was scheduled for Thursday but claimed the WNBA public relations team instructed Engelbert to cancel.
“We waited for him for almost two hours. This was planned.” Patrick said. “He was going to have a meeting in his hotel room, have a conference call, and then he was going to join us… We’re ready, we’re waiting to interview him.”
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Patrick added that he plans to ask questions about Caitlin Clark and other topics, including the WNBA expansion.
“Then we heard the commissioner, the WNBA staff, the public relations staff saying she wasn’t allowed to do that. They would have preferred her not to do that,” Patrick said.
Patrick criticized Engelbert’s handling of the interview.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks ahead of the WNBA basketball draft on April 13, 2026 in New York. (Pamela Smith/AP)
“You’re the commissioner and you listen to the public relations department, that’s fine. So, did you consult with the public relations department before you said yes to us? We were promoting this all day yesterday,” he said.
“This was his opportunity to finally say: ‘Hey, you can ask me the tough questions.’ I thought it would be a good thing for the WNBA because people still want answers here. There are a lot of people here with ideas and agendas, and this was a chance to have a seat at the table. So will the questions be difficult? Yes, yes. And I’m sure it has something to do with… I mean, it’s just disappointing.
“If you want to be treated as a serious league, this is what it is! These are tough questions, but this is a fair exit for you, a fair platform. I will treat you with respect.”
Patrick even claimed on Friday’s show that Engelbert was playing golf 50 meters away from him because the broadcast of his show showed footage of the commissioner dribbling the ball.
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Patrick previously claimed that after Clark was punched in the throat by Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas on her show, her producers reached out to the WNBA for a statement on June 25 and received no response.
Patrick publicly criticized the league for this lack of communication on June 26, 2026, stating that the silence allowed the situation to “get out of control.”
Engelbert has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after his infamous punch to the throat of Clark, with referees failing to call the strike a foul in real time.
Although Thomas was given a one-game suspension after the play was reviewed and upgraded to 1, the league never publicly addressed the hit on Clark or the star’s escalating history of questionable rough contact since arriving in the league in 2024.
Instead, the WNBA issued a statement defending Thomas after she allegedly received backlash online.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league’s top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas’ comments and feel that what she and her teammates experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and are committed to protecting all players,” the statement said. The statement was included.
Clark subsequently finished 11th in the peer-reviewed portion of the 2026 WNBA All-Star voting, but finished in the top five leaguewide in both points and assists. This sparked major controversy, with WNBA legend Candace Parker publicly criticizing the players for disrespecting Clark.
“As much as I don’t like Diana Taurasi when I sit down, there’s no way I wouldn’t write her off as an All-Star,” Parker said. “Even though I don’t like anyone on the Lynx, because they were screaming for us, I’m not going to put Maya Moore or Sylvia Fowles. I think people need to look at themselves in the mirror and sit down and understand that if you put Caitlin Clark as the top eleven guard, you have some insecurities.”
The debate came to a head last week when it reached Capitol Hill.
Eleven Republican lawmakers recently sent a letter to Commissioner Engelbert. They demanded responsibility for physical hostility towards Clark. They even suggested that federal agencies such as the Department of Justice investigate the league for creating a hostile work environment.
The Indiana Fire quickly moved away from political interference. The team released a statement confirming they had no prior knowledge of the letter. Fever head coach Stephanie White completely refused to address the issue when asked about it by Fox News Digital during her pre-game press conference on Thursday.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (left) poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever in the first round of the WNBA basketball draft on Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Man Hunger)
“This is not something we can control,” White said.
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“We have no affiliation with these groups. We try to keep the main issue the main issue and focus on the things we can control.”
