​Cathy Engelbert, the commissioner of the WNBA, is spending the weekend in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, for the American Century Championship, the annual celebrity golf event. This tournament also hosts Dan Patrick’s popular sports radio show, which was planning to feature Engelbert in an interview this week. Patrick and his team had promoted the appearance, but the interview never happened. Patrick noted that the interview was scheduled for Thursday, July 9, and on Friday he explained to his audience what went wrong.
Patrick said that Engelbert was told to cancel the interview by the WNBA’s public relations team after she had already agreed to take part. He described how, on Thursday, he and his producers waited for nearly two hours for Engelbert. His team kept reaching out to both Engelbert and the WNBA for at least 90 minutes before receiving a response that he characterized as “feeble.” He then claimed that he learned the commissioner had been told by the WNBA staff that she should not participate in the interview and that the league would prefer she not do it. Patrick pressed whether Engelbert had checked with PR before agreeing to appear.
The backdrop to the discussion involves the broader controversy surrounding the June 24 game between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. In that contest, Thomas landed on Clark, shoved a fist toward Clark’s throat, and then stepped over her during a scramble for a loose ball. No foul was called in real time, but the WNBA subsequently reviewed the play and suspended Thomas for a game, charging her with a flagrant-2 foul and stating that she had “recklessly” made contact with Clark and committed a non-basketball act. In the days following the suspension, Thomas said she received death threats and that Engelbert had not reached out to her. Engelbert later issued a statement condemning “any and all forms of hate.” She has not publicly addressed the incident, the suspension, the reactions, or the criticism the league has faced. Patrick believed that inviting Engelbert to speak could provide a platform to discuss these topics more fully.
Patrick described his rationale for pursuing Engelbert’s appearance as follows: he believed offering Engelbert a place to speak would be constructive for the WNBA and for fans seeking clarity. “I thought this was going to be a good thing for the WNBA because people still want answers here,” he said. “There are a lot of opinions and agendas out there, and this was a genuine chance to sit down. Yes, the questions would be tough, and I’m sure that probably influenced the decision to cancel.” He called the situation disappointing.
Meanwhile, Patrick’s show was simulcast for broader search engine optimization, increasing the reach of the conversation as it unfolded. The episode was framed by a broader national discourse that has lately surrounded the WNBA, its leadership, and responses to on-court incidents. Patrick suggested that giving Engelbert a chance to speak could have helped address the public’s questions and perhaps temper some of the intense criticism directed at the league and its communications team.
As the weekend in Lake Tahoe continues, fans and observers will likely watch to see whether Engelbert or any WNBA representatives will address these issues publicly in the wake of the canceled interview and the ongoing discussions about the league’s handling of the Caitlin Clark–Alyssa Thomas situation and related commentary.