{"id":6963,"date":"2026-08-19T22:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T22:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6963"},"modified":"2026-08-19T22:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T22:07:21","slug":"sophie-cunningham-hints-at-wnba-commissioner-shakeup-as-she-goes-after-cathy-engelbert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6963","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Cunningham hints at WNBA commissioner shakeup as she goes after Cathy Engelbert"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said she believes new leadership might help the WNBA. <\/p>\n

Read more Prince Harry and Meghan Markle making shock move back to UK \u2014 6 years after ditching royal life for California<\/a><\/p>\n

In an interview published Wednesday by USA Today, Cunningham \u2014 who became a lightning rod amid debates of transgender athletes in women\u2019s sports \u2014 discussed commissioner Cathy Engelbert\u2019s future, and said \u201cthat could be a position maybe open\u201d at the end of this year\u2019s league calendar.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do have to have a person in power who is bold, who is confident, who wants the best for the players and not maybe for themselves all the time,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cSo I do feel like, as a whole, that could be a position that\u2019s maybe open at the end of the year, but that\u2019s not my call.\u201d <\/p>\n

In her seventh year as the WNBA\u2019s commissioner, Engelbert\u2019s current contract is set to expire after the 2026 season. <\/p>\n

Cunningham, who acknowledged that any position of power has its challenges, emphasized the importance of leadership supporting players\u2019 growth. <\/p>\n

\u201c(Cathy Engelbert\u2019s) done a lot of good things, but with where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cThat\u2019s just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players \u2015 we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but \u2026 that\u2019s up to [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a mid-July press conference at NBA Summer League, Silver was noncommittal on Engelbert\u2019s future with the league. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI think Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league,\u201d Silver said, noting that he didn\u2019t want to speak for Engelbert. \u201cWe\u2019ll have ongoing discussions about what the future looks like.\u201d <\/p>\n

Silver added that he was \u201cpleased\u201d with the \u201ctremendous progress\u201d made under Engelbert \u2014 who was at the helm for a contentious CBA agreement in March, as well as six new expansion teams. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Golden State Valkyries \u2014 the newly announced host for the 2027 WNBA All-Star game \u2014 joined the league in 2025.<\/p>\n

Both the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire launched in 2026. The Cleveland Sirens are set to begin play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.<\/p>\n

Despite the league\u2019s growth, Engelbert came under fire for relationships with players, or lack there of, as well as the handling of social justice issues and treatment of players on and off of the court. <\/p>\n

Other players, such as Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, have voiced their displeasure with Engelbert at the helm. <\/p>\n

Read more Accused ringleader of Penn State coke crew used spring break debt to force frat bro to sell drugs: court docs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham hinted WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s job could be open soon, calling for bold new leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wnba"],"yoast_head":"\nSophie Cunningham hints at WNBA commissioner shakeup as she goes after Cathy Engelbert - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6963\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sophie Cunningham hints at WNBA commissioner shakeup as she goes after Cathy Engelbert - 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