Since she took over in 2019, the WNBA has grown into a much bigger business under Cathy Engelbert. Arenas are getting sold out, viewership has reached new heights, and let’s not forget the historic media-rights deal that the league signed. Yet as Engelbert prepares to leave her seat at the end of 2026, one issue continues to follow her tenure: the relationship between the league office and its players. So as speculation around who will take the wheel next continues, Sophie Cunningham didn’t shy away from pointing out what she needs from her next commissioner.
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“It definitely has to be someone who is in great communication with the players because, at the end of the day, we should be joining forces,” Cunningham said on the No Hesitation podcast, during the debut episode. “We should be working together to grow this league to the best of its ability, and I really do think the sky is the limit when we work together.”
“Under previous people who were leading, we would be in the same room with each other… we wouldn’t even say hi, and there would only be like five people in the room. Is that not weird or awkward? Just be friendly, just be a human,” she added.
During her tenure, Engelbert faced criticism for incidents that highlighted the lack of communication between the players and the Commissioner’s desk.
One of the clearest examples came in 2024, when Engelbert was asked about the toxic online environment surrounding the league and the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry. Rather than directly condemning the online toxicity, Engelbert emphasized the importance of rivalries in drawing more eyes and interest in the sport. That response even prompted the WNBPA and Terri Jackson to publicly push back, with Jackson saying the commissioner should have directly addressed the harassment players were facing.
But that was not the only point of friction.
In 2025, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier delivered a blistering assessment of WNBA leadership, criticizing Engelbert over issues including officiating, player compensation, and communication. At that time, Engelbert even acknowledged that there was work to do in repairing her relationship with players and said, “If the players in the ‘W’ don’t feel appreciated and value from the league, we have to do better and I have to do better.”
So where Sophie Cunningham is coming from makes sense.
“I understand that they pretty much work for these billionaires who make a lot of money, and they’ve invested a lot of money in us players and in this league,” Cunningham said. “And so, we’re not always going to be getting along, but I do think knowing that this new commissioner is going to be for the players and there’s going to be a direct line of communication.”
She knows disagreements are inevitable, so what she appears to want is a commissioner willing to have those disagreements face-to-face rather than allowing the distance between players and league leadership to grow.
“We’re not always going to agree, but I think there’s a level of respect that you can have, and just being a human and being friendly and nice. I think that’s a really good start,” Sophie Cunningham added.
With Engelbert’s eight-season tenure coming to an end, the WNBA has a complicated task ahead. The next commissioner will inherit a league in the middle of unprecedented growth, but also one where player trust and communication remain major issues.
So now, the question is whether the person chosen to lead the WNBA next will be willing to listen.
