WNBA leadership was put on blast when Minnesota Lynx guard Napheesa Collier made a strong statement during her exit interview on Tuesday. She received a lot of support, and one of the strongest responses came from four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson shortly after the Aces punched their ticket to the WNBA Finals.
Wilson had not commented much on Collier’s statement earlier in the day because she was preparing to face the Indiana Fever in the deciding Game 5. After Las Vegas pulled off the 107-98 win, Wilson said she had more time to listen to Collier’s statement and opened her postgame press conference with her thoughts on the situation.
“I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made,” Wilson said. “But at the same time, I’m very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of players’ association representing us, because that’s what we are going to have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in. I’m grateful to have those types of people be able to continue to speak up for us.
“I’m going to ride with Phee, always. Obviously she is a business girly and she has her own stuff going on. But moving forward, we gotta continue to stand on business as we talk about this CBA negotiation.”
Collier made multiple claims in her statement, including how Engelbert said players like Caitlin Clark should be grateful because “without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.” According to Collier, she also said “players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars” for the media rights deal she got for league.
A lot of voices from around the league stood behind her, including Fever coach Stephanie White, Seattle Storm’s Erica Wheeler and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese, amongst others.
