"Pretty shameful she always makes it about her": Sophie Cunningham aggressively doubles down on Napheesa Collier's rant against Cathy Engelbert

Sophie Cunningham brutally slammed WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league's leadership while doubling down on Napheesa Collier's rant from Tuesday. While Collier took a civil approach and calmly put forth her points, Cunningham went straight in an unfiltered manner during her exit interview on Thursday.

The Fever guard wasted no time in calling out the WNBA's treatment of the players and demanded accountability.

"I'm just tired of our league... Our leadership from top to bottom needs to be held accountable... I think there are a lot of people in position of power in the WNBA who, they might be really great business people, but they don't know shit about basketball," Cunningham said (via WNBA reporter Alexa Philippou).

Alexa Philippou

@alexaphilippou

Sophie Cunningham: "I'm just tired of our league... Our leadership from top to bottom needs to be held accountable... I think there are a lot of people in position of power in the WNBA who, they might be really great business people, but they don't know shit about basketball."

Cunningham apparently started the press conference, suggesting she would be on her "good behavior," but once she got going, the Fever guard didn't stop. She added:

"Not really a fan of our leadership... I think they're failing us as a league, definitely failing us as players... It's pretty shameful she always makes it about her, Cathy, when it should have nothing to do with her."

Alexa Philippou

@alexaphilippou

Sophie Cunningham backed up Napheesa Collier's comments: "Not really a fan of our leadership... I think they're failing us as a league, definitely failing us as players... It's pretty shameful she always makes it about her, Cathy, when it should have nothing to do wit her."

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Sophie Cunningham reveals there could be a lockout after latest meeting

Cunningham hinted that the WNBA could face a lockout after the latest conversation between the players' association and the league. She revealed the players were getting an update on the CBA negotiations, but the league "came back with nothing."

Madeline Kenney

@madkenney

Sophie Cunningham said there’s a “big call” this afternoon with the WNBPA for players to get an update on CBA stuff. “I do know the league came back and essentially gave us nothing.” She said a lockout is a real possibility but it’d be “the dumbest basketball decision ever.”

On Tuesday, Napheesa Collier said that the WNBA isn't meeting the players' demands because of a lack of sustainability of the product. However, there's been significant growth and it's only rising. The WNBA continued to draw viewers despite its biggest draw, Caitlin Clark, playing only 13 games this year.

Sophie Cunningham's comments suggest that it's not the most profitable decision by the WNBA to let a lockout come to fruition over their disagreements.

It would be beneficial for the league to milk the most out of this never-before-seen peak and continue building with the talent influx the WNBA is seeing over the past two years, with names like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, on top of the existing household names like Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson.