Cathy Engelbert Takes on the WNBA


After one week, new WNBA Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert already has big plans that will lead to league expansion.

Many people around the country have doubted Englebert because she is considered to be an unconventional pick for commissioner; however, her big plans indicate that she may be what the league needs in order to progress. 

The new commissioner has come into a league that was already plagued with a plethora of issues.  First and foremost, the WNBA is dealing with two players with domestic violence issues, The league is also needs to improve in its media coverage in order to become up to par with its counterparts. 

After an interview with Sports Illustrated, Englbert discusses why she decided to take on such a task and how she plans to improve and expand the league.  

The interview.

According to SI, Englbert states that the reason she decided to take on the task of being a WNBA commissioner was simply because of her passion for women’s leadership, and determination to make the women’s sports league more “talked about.”  She also claims that one of the main strengths of the league is that it puts a huge emphasis on empowerment of women.  The league also prides itself on ensuring that they have the most talented diverse and educated women both on and off the court.  

A topic discussed in the interview that I found most important was the ways in which she planned to get the “millennials” more involved with the league.  According to Engelbert, millennials thrive with social connections; therefore that may be a way that the league can reach that target audience (through it players).  She also discussed capitalizing off of the U.S Women’s Soccer Team Winning the World Cup since that has been trending as of late.   

I personally am a huge fan of the WNBA, and I am really happy to see that they finally have a commissioner.  I think that having its own commissioner will allow the league to have its own focus which will help expand and improve it in all the areas necessary.  With hard work, time, and patience,  I think that the WNBA can one day exceed the NBA.   

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https://www.courant.com/sports/basketball/hc-sp-wapo-wnba-commissioner-cathy-engelbert-20190723-20190722-a2kct5mkyfgv3drz326eey57im-story.html

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