WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is no stranger to controversy in her role. She has been facing heat from WNBA fans in recent months over the league’s officiating, decisions, and more.
That view was affirmed Friday when pundit Dan Patrick revealed Engelbert snubbed him after initially agreeing to be interviewed. Instead, they could see her golfing not too far away from the set.
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WNBA World Reacts to Cathy Engelbert Snubbing Dan Patrick
Patrick took several minutes to call out Engelbert, while cameras found her warming up for her golf round nearby.
“If you want to be treated as a serious league, this is what happens!” Patrick said. “These are tough questions, but this is a fair outlet for you, a fair platform. I will treat you with respect.”
WNBA fans and personalities chimed in with a clear popular opinion. One user wrote, “This is crazy to me. This is a media firestorm and you have a chance to do something about it and you walk away? You cancel the interview? That is insane.”
Journalist Jemele Hill went right at Englebert with a strongly-worded message.
“He’s 100 percent right,” Hill wrote. “When Cathy Engelbert used gender as cover when she was asked difficult questions, it came off as small. As commissioner, she’s supposed to set the tone for the league. I don’t think she’s built for the moment the W is in. She should be out front on this and she isn’t. Weak statements aren’t going to cut it.
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Patrick claimed Engelbert told him her WNBA PR team advised against doing an interview. Thus, this became a discussion of media etiquette as well, highlighted by Richard Deitsch.
“This is eminently fair by Patrick. And the reason it’s fair, and just speaking for me, is that this show has a history of treating guests and listeners like adults. It’s a sports radio show that has shown journalistic intent and query over a long period of time. I’m sure the league wants the ASG to be the first public Q&A for Cathy Engelbert after a long stretch. Understandable. But this is a forum that would be fair and doesn’t have a history of performative WNBA takes. You could have used it as a test run for the ASG.”
One fan called Engelbert “not ready for the moment,” while another fan chimed in with a bold claim. “Cathy Engelbert is a coward and not fit to lead imo.”
It is one thing for fans to go after a league commissioner. But it’s a whole other thing for a veteran media personality to be so open about a situation like this.
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Seth Davis called it “yet another turnover” by Engelbert during her reign as WNBA Commissioner, which began in 2019.
Engelbert has been called out before, but this beef with Patrick will likely not end well for her unless she does ultimately appear on his show.
