Portnoy makes pitch to be WNBA commissioner as – Sports News
Minnseota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, the vice president of the WNBA Players Association, learn a four-minute pre-prepared assertion addressing her qualms with league commissioner Cathy Engelbert earlier than answering questions at her end-of-season press convention.
Collier’s assertion sparked a flurry of responses from across the league, together with from Engelbert’s workplace. SBJ reported that it is not anticipated that the present commissioner will return after the WNBA CBA negotiations this fall.
This will lead to a void atop the WNBA. Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy — out of the blue a fan of the league following Caitlin Clark’s rise with the Indiana Fever — jokingly threw his hat into the ring during his each day ‘Wake Up Barstool’ show on FS1.
“I’d love [to be commissioner],” Portnoy mentioned. “All these ladies who assume they hate me. Angel Reese, she thinks she hates me…these women would be wining and eating like, ‘Oh my god, it’s not concerning the coloration of your pores and skin, it’s about sports activities, basketball, and this man’s placing money in my pocket. He’s a genius!’
“We would be flying, dining, and driving. I would absolutely take this league to a level it has never seen. Cathy Engelbert can’t market her way out of a paper bag. Embrace the stuff that’s going on in this league.”
Portnoy’s first move would likely be to increase the size of rookie contracts. Clark, fresh off her 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year win, earned $78,000 this year.
Collier addressed Clark’s salary directly in her speech, referencing her conversation with Engelbert about the topic earlier this season.
“Her response was, ‘[Clark] ought to be grateful. She makes $16 million off the court docket as a result of with out the platform that the WNBA offers her, she would not make something,'” the Lynx player explained.
“And in that very same dialog, she informed me, ‘Players ought to be on their knees, thanking their fortunate stars for the media rights deal that I received them.'”
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Portnoy immediately responded to the speech on X. “I proceed to be astounded by how dumb Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA are,” he wrote.
“It’s like her life objective is to alienate Caitlin and her followers. It’s madness. Caitlin might begin a new league tomorrow and put Cathy out of business. They will not be comfortable until they kill the golden goose.”
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