Sophie Cunningham revealed her stance against the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports last month. Discourse over this has since snowballed into a nationwide debate, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert catching flak for failing to put forth substantive rules and regulations on trans eligibility in the league.
Former Indiana coach Dan Dakich went off on the commissioner on his podcast, calling her out for seemingly doing an awful job at running the WNBA.
Dan Dakich Goes at Cathy Engelbert and Her Handling of the WNBA
Dakich graded Engelbert’s performance as commissioner since she took up the job in July 2019. He said, “League growth: I’ll give her credit for this. Expansion, I’ll give her a ‘B’. TV and business, absolute ‘F’ and I’ll tell you why. The league’s becoming a laughing stock and businesses do not want to do business with laughing stocks. In Woke 1.0, a business might want to hire a clown to do their social justice, to check a box. But, not anymore.”
Governing bodies like the Women’s Tennis Association, the International Olympic Committee, and the Union Cycliste Internationale have barred trans athletes from participating in women’s events.
The WNBA has so far declined to dive into the topic. The league released a statement earlier this month saying, “We strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.”
However, Dakich does not believe that Engelbert has done enough. He criticized the way the WNBA commissioner has handled the ongoing trans-athlete controversy.
“Crisis management, absolute ‘F,’” continued Dakich on his “Don’t @ Me” show. “In the latest debacle, can’t decide what a woman is? That’s laughable. It’s a 90/10 issue. At worst, 80/20 issue. We all know what a woman is. But they can’t do it.”
“Protecting the product, massive ‘F’ minus. She’s been the worst. The product is now seen as a joke,” said Dakich, claiming Engelbert is “responsible.”
Evaluating Cathy Engelbert’s tenure as WNBA commissioner!@dandakich gives his honest review of Cathy Engelbert’s performance as WNBA commissioner. pic.twitter.com/1v5uHdR8w1
— Don’t @ Me (@DontAtMeDD) August 24, 2026
Dakich went on to compare David Stern’s strict NBA code of conduct with the way Engelbert has handled the players and calls for more order. WNBA players and the league’s ecosystem have criticized Engelbert ad nauseam.
The WNBA has faced a litany of issues this year, including players facing abuse and death threats on social media, the treatment received by Caitlin Clark, and the standard of officiating. Now, with the league under pressure over trans eligibility, it’s unclear which side of the coin Engelbert and the officials will flip.
Those in charge of the WNBA have so far resisted calls to weigh in on the trans-athlete debate, instead calling for a focus on on-court play. However, with the controversy showing no signs of slowing, it remains to be seen whether they will seek to clarify their stance on the topic in the coming days.
