Dan Patrick was ready. He had a list of questions. He cleared time in his schedule. And then he waited. For two hours.
According to Patrick, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was all set to appear on “The Dan Patrick Show” to talk about the league’s officiating controversies, the Caitlin Clark effect, expansion plans — the whole deal. But then her PR team pulled the plug.
“Yesterday after the show, we waited almost two hours for her,” Patrick said on air. “She was going to do a meeting in her hotel room, a conference call and then she was going to do us.”
That meeting never happened. Instead, Patrick says he got word that Engelbert’s staff decided she shouldn’t sit for the interview. Not that Patrick planned to ambush her. He’d been told nothing was off limits. Officiating, Clark’s treatment by opponents and referees, the league’s expansion timeline — it was all fair game. Patrick said he even wanted to give her a friendly platform where she could explain the league’s side.
“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 do not do this,” Patrick said. “I thought this was going to be a good thing for the WNBA, because people still want answers here.”
A league under heat
The WNBA has been dealing with a loud and messy public conversation over the last few weeks. Some of it is about how referees are calling games around Clark. Some of it is about whether the league is ready for the kind of attention Clark is bringing. And some of it is just the general noise that comes when one player — especially a rookie — becomes the face of a league while also being the target of physical play and constant media scrutiny.
Engelbert hasn’t done much to quiet that noise. She’s given a few interviews but largely stayed behind the scenes while the league’s most talked-about moments have been dissected by fans, former players and media. Patrick was hoping to change that.
“At some point you have to do this,” Patrick said. “If you wanted to be treated like a serious league, this is what happens. These are tough questions, but this is a fair outlet to you, a fair platform. I will treat you with respect.”
The WNBA hasn’t officially commented on why Engelbert canceled. Patrick’s version is the only one out there right now, and it paints a picture of a league that’s still figuring out how to handle its own growing pains. Engelbert might have a different explanation. But for now, the story is that she had a chance to talk and didn’t take it.
Patrick seemed genuinely frustrated. Not angry. Just disappointed. He wanted to have a real conversation, the kind that makes a league look more transparent, not less. Instead, he got a cancellation notice and a story to tell.
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