{"id":385207,"date":"2025-11-17T12:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T12:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/385207\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T12:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T12:40:12","slug":"with-cathy-engelberts-future-at-wnba-in-limbo-some-potential-replacements-could-make-you-go-wow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/385207\/","title":{"rendered":"With Cathy Engelbert’s future at WNBA in limbo, some potential replacements could make you go, ‘Wow’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is more of a news story than a premise. With WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert under scrutiny \u2014 even before<\/a> Napheesa Collier\u2019s press conference<\/a> haymaker \u2014 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has presumably been drawing up his own list of potential replacements to guide the league. The options are likely from within the W, from a <\/b>league <\/b>partner or, in much <\/b>more of a stretch, from the political landscape. But change is almost assuredly coming to WNBA leadership, and the top candidates need to be able to:<\/p>\n

Unify \u2026 have a business background \u2026 be a torch bearer for women\u2019s sports \u2026 listen and relate to players \u2026 have media connections \u2026 know basketball \u2026 did we say unify?<\/p>\n

Engelbert\u2019s main issue, according to multiple sources, is that she\u2019s \u201cnot a relationship builder\u201d \u2014 something the NBA league office has purportedly been aware of for an extended period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe if she could do it over again, she\u2019d really, really put herself out there as being an advocate of these players, but more on a very personal human level,\u201d said a WNBA team executive who considers Engelbert a friend. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not suggesting she would not debate that and give a thousand examples of where she did do that. But I think it\u2019s about style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also think this is a person who, as a commissioner on her watch, has secured the largest media rights deal in the history of the WNBA and is part of a league that\u2019s never been more popular, never grown quicker with valuations now in the $250 [million] to $300 million range. So it\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her successor, then, will need to be the opposite and the same \u2014 in other words, someone who can ingratiate themselves to players, owners, sponsors and media conglomerates. It\u2019s a tough dance, but there are intriguing possibilities; even some that make you go \u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renie Anderson, NFL chief revenue officer, EVP<\/b><\/p>\n

The highest-ranking female NFL executive, Anderson would be a coup for the WNBA. She has overseen key sponsorships with Pepsi, Microsoft, Verizon, Bose and Nike, to name a few, and has headed up media sales for NFL Network and the league\u2019s digital offerings. A competitive gymnast growing up in Kentucky, Anderson has long been known for her work ethic, relationships and taking on challenges.<\/p>\n

Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors<\/b><\/p>\n

An investor in the new Detroit WNBA expansion team along with her husband, she would bring a compelling business background to the league. She is the first woman to head a top U.S. automaker and is progressive, having invested heavily in electric and autonomous vehicles. Her affinity for the WNBA was clear with her bid for the Detroit franchise, and she is a member of the board of directors at Walt Disney Company, a WNBA partner. She fits the corporate profile that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has prioritized.<\/p>\n

Gail Boudreaux, president, CEO, Elevance Health<\/b><\/p>\n

The former college basketball star at Dartmouth leads a company based in Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Fever, so she\u2019s another exec who fits the corporate business profile that appeals to Silver. She earned her MBA from Columbia, and her basketball background should help her connect with players. She is not only Dartmouth\u2019s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, but also is the first athlete in school history to have her jersey retired in women\u2019s basketball. She has championed inclusion during a career that has put her on the boards of Boeing and Exxon Mobil.<\/p>\n

Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing, PR officer, Ally Financial<\/b><\/p>\n

She\u2019s been on a crusade for women\u2019s sports from the business side, where perhaps it is needed most. Her launch of an Ally pledge to spend equal amounts on men\u2019s and women\u2019s sports was considered a first in the marketing industry, and Ally has since become a WNBA Changemaker and official banking partner of the league. But Brimmer\u2019s charisma \u2014 with a tattoo saying \u201cLike a Girl\u201d on her left forearm \u2014 is the separator. She has the same corporate background as Engelbert (who was hired away from Deloitte), but would seemingly connect better with players. One respected NBA exec said: \u201cIn terms of background, commitment to women\u2019s sports, business acumen and realistic affordability, I\u2019m putting my money on Andrea Brimmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swin Cash, NBA front office insider, Amazon Prime Video<\/b><\/p>\n

Cash was formerly the New Orleans Pelicans\u2019 SVP of basketball operations, giving her valuable experience in an NBA front office. She also has media connections through her broadcast work, not only at Amazon but at MSG and ESPN as well. The distinguisher would be her background as a player in the W, where she won three titles (two with the Shock and one with the Storm). \u201cIt would be extremely progressive and very thoughtful for a former player to be a commissioner and for it to happen in the WNBA first,\u201d said one WNBA team CEO. \u201cShe\u2019s done business and basketball. She\u2019s been an entrepreneur since forever, and just the way she thinks and the way she collaborates would make her a candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keia Clarke, CEO, New York Liberty<\/b><\/p>\n

Clarke owes her career to the WNBA, considering she wrote a grad school thesis at NYU over 20 years ago about what was wrong with the league\u2019s marketing plan. Through a connection, she presented the paper to the W, leading to a career in the league office and with the NBA\u2019s TMBO department. With the Liberty, she helped orchestrate the move to Brooklyn, oversaw New York\u2019s first pro basketball title in 50 years, negotiated local media rights deals and increased sponsorship revenue last season 50% year over year. She connects with Liberty players, too, and even played college basketball at Canisius. Checks every box.<\/p>\n

Kamala Harris, former U.S. vice president<\/b><\/p>\n

When Harris hosted a discussion with Collier last month at an event known as \u201cA Day of Unreasonable Conversation,\u201d it became clear again how plugged in Harris is to the WNBA. She has long advocated for equitable compensation for W players, and former players Crystal Langhorne and Lindsey Harding helped organize a \u201cHoops for Harris\u201d campaign during the 2024 presidential election. She also fits the commissioner template of being a lawyer. As with Michelle Obama, Harris\u2019 interest in the job would be the question mark.<\/p>\n

Micky Lawler, commissioner, Unrivaled<\/b><\/p>\n

The former president of the Women\u2019s Tennis Association, with an expertise in business development, Lawler walked into the emerging Unrivaled last season for her first taste of women\u2019s pro basketball. With relationships already formed \u2014 <\/b>especially with Collier, who is an Unrivaled co-founder \u2014 W players would undoubtedly be comfortable with her in the job. That sort of player trust is paramount, and she would certainly bring Unrivaled\u2019s institutional knowledge and player-first mentality to the WNBA. It would be rare for rival leagues to exchange commissioners, but this could also be a glimpse of future collaboration between the two.<\/p>\n

Michelle Obama, former U.S. first lady<\/b><\/p>\n

Her brother, Craig, is the former college basketball coach at Oregon State, and her husband, former President Barack Obama, was and is a hooper himself. So let\u2019s get that out of the way first; she adores basketball. And, considering she went to Princeton undergrad and earned her law degree at Harvard, she has the background that most leagues want their commissioners to have. When it comes to unifying, there may be no one better qualified. The main question would be whether she\u2019d want the job. If so, it could be the perfect short-term fix.<\/p>\n

Nadia Rawlinson, co-owner, operating chairman, Chicago Sky<\/b><\/p>\n

In addition to handling business operations of the team, Rawlinson is an adviser for Google Ventures and serves on the board of directors for J. Crew, Vail Resorts and the nonprofit Save the Children. Known for her ability to nurture relationships (previously chief people officer for Slack Technologies and chief human resources officer for Live Nation Entertainment), she fits the W\u2019s need for a unifier. She would have to sell her stake in the Sky, but she has key connections with the league.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is more of a news story than a premise. With WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert under scrutiny \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":385208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[70207,4281,62,67,132,68,232,1707],"class_list":{"0":"post-385207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-in-depth","9":"tag-print","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-wnba","15":"tag-womens-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115565090826984284","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}