Napheesa Collier keeps all of her receipts.

During her exit interview on Tuesday (September 30), Collier gave an epic, four-minute read of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league’s executive leadership for their “lack of accountability.”

Collier, the vice-president of the WNBA Players Association, pulled no punches, characterizing the league office as “tone-deaf,” “dismissive," and willing to sabotage its own product, and being more about “control and power” as their players' Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire at the end of October.

“We have the best players in the world,” Collier explained. “We have the best fans in the world. But right now we have the worst leadership in the world."

Collier claimed that when she spoke to Engelbert about how the league would fix the low rookie salary scale, the commissioner said that Caitlin Clark should “be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”

Collier also criticized the league for not implementing changes to its officiating.

“The league has a buzzword that they rolled out as a talking point for the CBA as to why they can't pay the players what we're worth; that word is sustainability. But what's truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games,” Collier said. “Fans see it every night. Coaches, both winning and losing, point it out every night in pre- and post-game media. And leadership just issues fines and looks the other way.”

“At Unrivaled this past February, I sat across from Cathy and asked how she planned to address the officiating issues in our league. Her response was, 'Well, only the losers complain about the refs, ' Collier continued.

In a statement, Englebert expressed her disappointment in Collier's remarks and vowed to enact changes throughout the league.

“I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA,’’ Engelbert said. “I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”

While Collier noted that her statement was all her own, she received an outpouring of support.

“I was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made," A’ja Wilson said. "But at the same time, I'm very appreciative that we have people like Phee in our committee of players' association representing us, because that's what we are going to have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in. I'm grateful to have those types of people be able to continue to speak up for us.”