ESPN mainstay Stephen A. Smith recently made his thoughts on WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert clear. During an episode of “First Take,” the 58-year-old slammed the WNBA executive while discussing her announcement that she’s retiring in December 2026.
“About time. Took long enough,” Smith said during the episode, emphasizing that many people in the league have “been wanting her gone.” As he continued, Smith said he wished Engelbert “nothing but the best,” adding that she did a lot to help secure the league’s current collective bargaining agreement.
Smith didn’t stop there, though. He mentioned Minnesota Lynx Napheesa Collier’s 2025 speech, in which she “questioned the leadership” and “accused it of being negligent.” Smith also mentioned the several controversies that have surrounded the league in recent years, saying Engelbert “appeared to be reactive as opposed to proactive.”
Stephen A. Smith Says Cathy Engelbert Was ‘Ill-Equipped’ To Be Commissioner
Smith said that Engelbert made a “wise” decision to retire, adding that he believed she “was ill-equipped to handle the oncoming microscope that the WNBA obviously had developed.” He also stated that he thought the WNBA needed “new leadership.”
According to Smith, who has been covering sports professionally for over 30 years, “It’s a good thing that [Engelbert] is retiring.” While he commended her on “some [of the] good things” she did, Smith said there was more to the job that Engelbert struggled with.
“Clearly, cultivating relationships with players along with league officials is not something that she’s reportedly done a good job of. And when that’s your record, at age 61, it is time for you to go,” he said.
Cathy Engelbert Has Been In The Hot Seat Before
Smith isn’t the only public figure to speak out against Engelbert and call for new leadership. As he mentioned on “First Take,” Collier gave a fiery speech during the 2025 season and called Engelbert and her team “the worst leadership in the world.”
“Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders,” she said, according to Just Women’s Sports. “They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging them to fix. That is negligence.”
Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham also spoke about Engelbert as Commissioner and said the league needs someone “bold” in power. “With where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that,” she said. “That’s just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players ― we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but … that’s up to [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver at the end of the day.”
Engelbert Is Saying Goodbye To The WNBA
Engelbert announced her plan to retire as league Commissioner at the end of this year, according to The Blast.
“After more than seven years at the WNBA and more than 40 years total in business, I have made the decision to retire as WNBA Commissioner,” she said in a statement posted online. “In 2019, I had the privilege of being appointed the league’s first commissioner and to lead a league with enormous potential yet untapped awareness and significant undervaluation.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had positive things to say about Engelbert, saying she’s presided over the league “through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history.”
He added, “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”
WNBPA President Releases Statement About Engelbert’s Announcement
The WNBA Players’ Association president, Nneka Ogwumike, issued a statement shortly after Engelbert announced her retirement. In her statement, she also praised Engelbert for stepping into the role of Commissioner during a “pivotal moment” and celebrated her for managing the league through recent expansions.
“Cathy and I have been through a lot together over the years. We didn’t always agree, but we absolutely shared a belief in what this league could become and in building a better future for the women at the heart of it,” she wrote. “At the end of the day, that’s what matters. Leaving the game better than you found it. I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish together and, on behalf of our player membership, I wish Cathy and her family nothing but the best in whatever she chooses to do next.”
