WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert canceled an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show,” the host announced during his show on Friday. Both Engelbert and Patrick are at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Nevada.
Patrick said the conversation was scheduled for Thursday, but he claimed the WNBA’s public relations team instructed Engelbert to cancel.
“We waited almost two hours for her. This was scheduled.” Patrick said. “She was going to do a meeting in her hotel room, a conference call, and then she was going to join us… We’re standing by, we’re waiting to interview her.”
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Patrick added that he intended to ask questions about Caitlin Clark, and other topics including WNBA expansion.
“Then we got word… that the commissioner said that the WNBA staff, the PR staff, said that she is not allowed to do this. They would prefer that she did not do this,” Patrick said.
Patrick criticized Engelbert’s handling of the interview.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks before the WNBA basketball draft in New York on April 13, 2026. (Pamela Smith/AP)
“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,” he said.
“It was her opportunity to finally say, ‘hey, you can ask me the tough questions.’ I thought this was going to be a good thing for the WNBA because people still want answers here. There’s so many people who have an opinion, agendas here, and this was a chance to sit down. And yes, would the questions be tough? Yes, yes. And I’m sure that had something to do with it…. So, it’s just disappointing.
“If you want to be treated as a serious league, this is what happens! These are tough questions, but this is a fair outlet for you — a fair platform. I will treat you with respect.”
Patrick even claimed that Engelbert was golfing 50 yards away from him, while he was doing Friday’s show, as his show’s feed cut to footage of the commissioner driving a ball.
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Patrick previously claimed on his show that after Clark was punched in the throat by Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas, his producers reached out to the WNBA for a statement on June 25 and never received a response.
Patrick publicly criticized the league for this lack of communication on June 26, 2026, stating that the silence allowed the situation to “spiral out of control.”
Engelbert has come under immense scrutiny in recent weeks after the infamous throat punch to Clark, as referees did not call the hit a foul in real time.
While Thomas was dealt a one-game suspension after the play was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant 1, the league never publicly addressed the hit on Clark, or growing history of questionable hard contact on the star since she came into the league in 2024.
Instead, the WNBA put out a statement in defense of Thomas after she allegedly received backlash online.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league’s top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas’ comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players,” the statement read.
Clark then finished 11th in the peer-voted portion of the 2026 WNBA All-Star balloting, despite ranking in the top five league-wide in both points and assists. This sparked major controversy, with WNBA legend Candace Parker publicly criticizing players for disrespecting Clark.
“When I sat down, as much as I did not like Diana Taurasi, there ain’t no way I’m not going to write her as an All-Star,” Parker said. “As much as I did not like anyone on the Lynx because they used to whoop our a—, I’m not going to not put Maya Moore or Sylvia Fowles. I think people need to look at themselves in the mirror and realize, like, man, you’ve got some insecurities if you’re sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the eleventh best guard.”
The controversy reached a peak this past week when it reached Capitol Hill.
Eleven Republican lawmakers recently sent a letter to Commissioner Engelbert. They demanded accountability for the physical hostility directed at Clark. They even suggested federal agencies like the Department of Justice investigate the league for creating a hostile work environment.
The Indiana Fever quickly distanced themselves from the political intervention. The team released a statement confirming they had no prior knowledge of the letter. Fever head coach Stephanie White then completely refused to engage with the topic when asked about it by Digital at a pre-game press conference on Thursday.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, left, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, right, after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
“That’s not something we can control,” White said.
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“We’re not affiliated with those groups. We try to keep the main thing the main thing and focus on the things we can control.”
