The first commissioner in WNBA history is leaving the job after seven years.
Cathy Engelbert will retire at the end of the calendar year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced in an official WNBA statement. Her exit closes a tenure that spanned what Silver called the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history. Most people didn’t even know the league existed for that long because barely anyone watches it.
“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” Silver said. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”
As originally reported, the announcement arrives after one of the league’s most turbulent seasons on record, filled with bad fouls, missed layups, and the leagues inability to define what a woman is when they’re asked if biological males should be allowed to play in the league as long as they ‘identify’ as a woman, despite not being a woman at all.
Controversies over officiating, how players were treated, and cultural conflicts that reached well beyond the basketball court dominated headlines throughout the season. The league’s chaos surrounding it helped ruin any chances of people giving the league a shot, but the WNBA has failed for 30 years already, so they’re used to it.
Engelbert is a historic figure in women’s professional basketball. No one had held the commissioner title before her. She took the job seven years ago and, by Silver’s account, guided the WNBA through its most consequential stretch yet.
Her retirement is set to take effect at the end of this calendar year.
