Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said she believes new leadership might help the WNBA.
In an interview published Wednesday by USA Today, Cunningham — who became a lightning rod amid debates of transgender athletes in women’s sports — discussed commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s future, and said “that could be a position maybe open” at the end of this year’s league calendar.
“You 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,” Cunningham said. “So I do feel like, as a whole, that could be a position that’s maybe open at the end of the year, but that’s not my call.”
In her seventh year as the WNBA’s commissioner, Engelbert’s current contract is set to expire after the 2026 season.
Cunningham, who acknowledged that any position of power has its challenges, emphasized the importance of leadership supporting players’ growth.
“(Cathy Engelbert’s) 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,” Cunningham 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.”
During a mid-July press conference at NBA Summer League, Silver was noncommittal on Engelbert’s future with the league.
“I think Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league,” Silver said, noting that he didn’t want to speak for Engelbert. “We’ll have ongoing discussions about what the future looks like.”
Silver added that he was “pleased” with the “tremendous progress” made under Engelbert — who was at the helm for a contentious CBA agreement in March, as well as six new expansion teams.
The Golden State Valkyries — the newly announced host for the 2027 WNBA All-Star game — joined the league in 2025.
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.
Despite the league’s 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.
Other players, such as Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, have voiced their displeasure with Engelbert at the helm.
