Sep 9, 2026 · 1h 1m
WNBA leadership faces a defining test after Engelbert’s exit
Goodbye, Goodbye Cathy Engelbert with Big Citrus
The next commissioner will inherit a rapidly growing league while confronting unresolved questions about player safety, accountability, authority, and expansion.
- 1Engelbert’s tenure delivered substantial WNBA growth, but communication and player-safety concerns complicated her legacy.
- 2The commissioner’s unclear authority makes it difficult to separate Engelbert’s decisions from broader league ownership and financial constraints.
- 3The next leader must pair business expertise with player trust while navigating expansion, global growth, and the 2028 Olympics.
Don't miss
The hosts’ succession debate crystallizes around whether the next commissioner should bring business expertise, player experience, diversity, and stronger player representation.
The brief
Kathy Engelbert’s planned departure arrives as the WNBA is far larger than it was in 2019, yet player dissatisfaction over communication and safety shadows the transition.
Sarah Spain and Big Citrus argue that Engelbert’s record cannot be judged cleanly without accounting for COVID, collective bargaining, ownership structures, and the commissioner’s uncertain authority.
The conversation weighs tangible progress, including investment and player support, against slow expansion, charter-flight decisions, communication failures, and unresolved accountability.
The hosts frame the succession question around player representation, business skill, diversity, global basketball growth, the media deal, and the visibility of the 2028 Olympics.
Their candidate discussion—spanning Swin Cash, Jessica Berman, Kia Clarke, and Nneka Ogwumike—turns a leadership change into a test of what the WNBA values next.