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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has been among the most outspoken WNBA players to address the recent controversy surrounding Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. During her latest podcast episode, Cunningham continued to speak out, calling out the league boss for acting out of self-interest.
Both on social media and during her exit interview on Wednesday, Cunningham spoke at length about her issues with Engelbert and league officiating.
"I’m just tired of our league. They need to step up and be better. Our leadership from top to bottom needs to be held accountable. I think there are a lot of people in positions of power in the WNBA, who they might be really great business people, but they don’t know s--- about basketball. And that’s gotta change."
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In the latest episode of her podcast, "Show Me Something," Cunningham expanded on her thoughts amid the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations.
"At the end of the day, everyone’s fed up – fed up with how the league is treating us.
"They should be ashamed of themselves for what they’re giving back to us because it's nothing. It is nothing. They’re not listening. The thing is, they’re not even engaging with us. It is bad."
Cunningham, whose first season with the Fever was cut short due to injury, again addressed Engelbert. She said Engelbert lacked the qualities of a "great leader," and said that recent comments from the commissioner were out of self-interest.
"Great leaders want to see other people be more successful than them, they want to make sure that they’re cared for," Cunningham said. "And I get it, she’s the business side of it. Like, I get it. But you can be respectful and treat your product – the product of why people are paying attention, why people are buying certain jerseys – treat your product with respect.
"Like, be a great leader. She’s not. She’s not in any sense. The disrespect is just crazy to me."
"I think this just such a pivotal point in the WNBA because there’s so many eyes on us, there’s so many new fans – there’s millions of millions, I should say, of new fans – and at the end of the day she’s worried about her. In all of her statements it’s like, ‘Well, I got us here and I –,’ Cathy no one cares. Literally, no one cares."
Engelbert addressed the media Friday, and was asked about comments Napheesa Collier alleged she made about star player Caitlin Clark. Engelbert denied the accusations.
"Obviously, I did not make those comments. Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She's been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game," she said.
"There's a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all this reporting," she later added. "A lot of reporting, a lot of inaccuracy about what I say, what I didn't say."
The players’ association and the WNBA agreed to an eight-year agreement in 2020, but last year the WNBPA voted to opt out of the agreement early. The current agreement is set to expire Oct. 31.
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