WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed rumors of her resignation during her annual pre-Finals press conference on Friday, ahead of Game 1 between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury on Friday. Amid a week of criticism from players and media speculation, Engelbert made it clear she has no plans to step down.

“Obviously, I've never been a quitter,” she said. “I'm entering my 40th year, actually, this month in business. Never been a quitter, never shied away from tough situations. I think in leadership, the cream always rises to the top, and I've always been someone who believes in the fact that if there's things we need to fix, we're gonna fix them. If there's things the players have a perspective on that they don't like that we're doing, or I'm doing, we'll fix them.”

The criticism came in the wake of comments from Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who called the WNBA’s leadership “the worst in the world.”

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark supported Collier, calling her points “very valid.”

Adrift in the flood of circulating media reports suggesting Engelbert might step down after the completion of the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the WNBA issued a statement to the Sports Business Journal calling the reports “categorically false.”

During her address, Engelbert also sought to clarify misreported comments attributed to her. She denied telling Collier in a private conversation last winter that Clark “should be grateful” for endorsement opportunities provided by the league.

“Obviously, I did not make those comments. There’s a lot of inaccuracies reported out there, and I certainly did not say that,” she said.

Engelbert confirmed that she and Collier have exchanged text messages and have plans to meet to repair trust.

“If the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better and I have to do better,” she said. “No one should ever doubt how deeply I care about this league, this game, and every single player who makes the WNBA what it is.”

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The timing of these comments coincides with ongoing CBA negotiations between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, with an Oct. 31 deadline looming. Engelbert confirmed that the league has offered a “significant” salary increase for players and continues to meet with representatives, noting the possibility of extending negotiations to finalize a deal.

“It’s all about balancing the significant increase in salaries and benefits with the long-term viability of the league,” Engelbert said. “We’ve made proposals with significant (revenue)-share components. They’re obviously bargaining for more. And so we’re just trying to obviously balance looking out many years.”

Under Engelbert’s leadership since July 2019, the WNBA has seen substantial growth on and off the court.

Engelbert said: “The league has grown enormously over the last five years. It’s incredible what these players have done, day in, day out, and they deserve all the credit. But my staff and the staff of the teams and the owners of these teams have made tons of investments to get to where we are today.”

Franchise values have soared, ticket sales and merchandise revenue have increased, and television ratings have improved. Notably, the league added its first expansion team since 2008 and plans to reach 18 teams by 2030. A new $2.2 billion, 11-year media rights deal is set to begin next season.

Engelbert also announced the creation of a multi-stakeholder “state of the game” committee to address officiating concerns, stating:

“I think it’s pretty clear that we’re misaligned currently on what our stakeholders want from officiating. We have heard loud and clear that we have not lived up to that needed alignment, and that attention and change is needed to serve the WNBA to the level of excellence that is not currently being met in the various stakeholders’ eyes.”