Cathy Engelbert folded under pressure late Tuesday night by issuing a reactionary statement after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas publicly shamed her for a lack of support.
It’s a great reminder that behind every incompetent league is bad judgment.
Engelbert capitulated hours after Thomas, a lightning rod for controversy following her with Caitlin Clark, cast herself as the victim.
Thomas successfully deflected from the fact that she had just been suspended for striking the league’s golden goose.
Despite earning the suspension that fueled the backlash, Thomas still turned herself into the victim, blasted Engelbert and the commissioner predictably folded.
“The WNBA vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate,” Engelbert said in the statement on Tuesday.
One has to wonder where rank on the commissioner’s list of priorities.
The statement amounted to a complete submission to Thomas, who used her Tuesday media availability to blast Engelbert.
“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 what she and her teammates have 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 remain committed to protecting all players.”
Rather than hold Thomas to her action, Engelbert bent a knee to the wrong player.
During a loose-ball scramble, Thomas struck Fever superstar Caitlin Clark in the throat with her fist.
While officials on the floor inexplicably missed it, the league office later upgraded the play to a Flagrant 2 and slapped Thomas with a retroactive one-game suspension for a “non-basketball act.”
Fever coach Stephanie White called the initial no-call “absolutely unacceptable,” and Clark ultimately exited the game with a back injury.
Instead of answering for endangering a fellow player, Thomas displayed an astonishing lack of accountability, claiming, “A lot of us, myself included, didn’t even know the play took place until after the game.”
She then complained that her cited severe online harassment and attacked the WNBA for failing to properly notify her of the suspension.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know I was being suspended until 10 minutes before it was ,” Thomas said, taking a direct shot at the commissioner. “As usual, she remains silent.”
Engelbert took the bait. The league office showed it was more interested in than protecting its biggest gate attraction.
Engelbert has consistently mismanaged the overt physical hostility directed at the league’s biggest star.
Hard fouls are routinely minimized, and meaningful discipline often arrives only after public outrage forces the league’s hand.
By validating the self-perceived victimhood of a player who had just been suspended for a “non-basketball act” against Clark, Engelbert’s administration exposed its priorities.
The WNBA continues to coddle veteran players who resent Clark’s spotlight instead of enforcing a consistent standard of player safety.
Engelbert made her choice. It wasn’t Caitlin Clark.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
