Cathy Engelbert took over as the WNBA’s first-ever commissioner back in 2019, after leaving Deloitte. On paper, it looked like a strong hire. In practice, her time running the league has been anything but smooth.
It has been marked by one controversy after another. It has left fans and analysts questioning whether she’s the right person for the job. The latest blowup has only added fuel to that fire.
Basketball Analyst Dave Portnoy Has Recently Called Out Cathy Engelbert
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy recently retweeted a post from broadcaster Dan Patrick, who shared his frustration over Engelbert pulling out of a planned appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” at the last moment.
Portnoy also used the moment to call out Engelbert and to blast the WNBA as the worst-run league in the world.
“This is one of my biggest pet peeves in the world. When people like @CathyEngelbert
say they can’t do something because their agent or PR said so. THEY WORK FOR YOU. Absolute coward move. Anyway, this is just yet another example of what 🤡 show the @wnba is. Worst run league in the world,” Portnoy wrote on his X.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in the world. When people like @CathyEngelbert say they can’t do something because their agent or PR said so. THEY WORK FOR YOU. Absolute coward move. Anyway this is just yet another example of what 🤡 show the @wnba is. Worst run… https://t.co/ieO8aFslff
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 11, 2026
Here’s what actually happened. Patrick had lined up Engelbert for a sit-down interview on “The Dan Patrick Show,” and by his account, she’d agreed to it after the two spoke directly. Patrick spent much of Friday’s broadcast building up the appearance. But she never showed up. Patrick said his team sat around waiting for her for close to two hours before finally getting word that the whole thing was off.
According to him, the explanation that came back was that the WNBA’s own PR staff had told Engelbert it probably wasn’t a good idea for her to do the interview, so she pulled out right as it was supposed to start.
“You’re the commissioner, and you’re listening to the PR department, which is fine, but did you check with PR before you said yes to us? We promoted it all day yesterday. Now, look, I know people get busy, people have agendas.”
“This was her opportunity to finally say, ‘Hey, you can ask me the tough questions, okay?’ I thought this was going to be a good thing for the WNBA because people still want answers here. There are so many people who have an opinion and agendas here, and this was a chance to sit down,” Patrick said during a later segment.
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This isn’t the first rough patch of Engelbert’s year. Just months ago, she was under fire for how she handled the CBA negotiations with the WNBPA. That situation eventually got sorted out, but the peace didn’t last. Now the criticism has shifted toward how she is running the league day to day, and a lot of it centers on Caitlin Clark.
The boiling point came when Alyssa Thomas was hit with a one-game suspension after a hard foul that included contact to Clark’s throat during a game between the Fever and the Mercury.
Many fans and analysts felt that the punishment barely scratched the surface. They argued the league still isn’t doing enough to protect its biggest draw, and Engelbert has taken heat for that ever since.
Sitting down with Patrick could have been Engelbert’s chance to get ahead of the frustration that has been building among fans. Instead, backing out without a public statement has only made things worse.
