Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend, Kayla Nicole, has joined the long list of voices calling out WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, after claims surfaced that Engelbert told players like Caitlin Clark and other young stars they should be “thankful” to the league for giving them a platform.
The issue came up when Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier shared details from a meeting with Engelbert during the CBA talks, where the alleged comment was made. Engelbert, however, has publicly denied it.
“Obviously, I did not make those comments,” Engelbert said. “There is a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all of this reporting.”
Still, Nicole didn’t hold back when she talked about the situation on Sunday’s episode of her “Pre-Game” podcast.
“That’s what I said, though (Don’t talk like that),” Nicole said. “I’m like, ‘She’s reading, I’m looking around the room like do y’all see this? What the f**k she just say to me? Caitlin Clark should be thankful for the W?’”
She continued,
“I don’t know. I’m going to the NBA. Excuse me. That’s totally like, ‘(Michael) Jordan, oh, you should be thankful for the Bulls. We made you great.’ Okay, got it.”
Nicole, who dated Travis Kelce from 2017 to 2022, leaned on her experience as a journalist and commentator, saying she understands how important it is for players to be able to speak freely.
“I Just Want People to Shut Up Too”: Travis Kelce’s ex–girlfriend Backs Napheesa Collier
After calling out Engelbert, Nicole also showed love for Napheesa Collier, who recently said the WNBA has “the worst leadership in the world.”
“But shout out to Napheesa (Collier),” Nicole said (41:55). “Honestly, (she came ready), and I just want people to shut up too, because I’m just sensitive about these women in media. And I think that, yeah, now the whole discourse is like, ‘Well, this is just bad timing, and you’re putting a target on the league, and it’s supposed to be this positive moment, it’s expanding.’ But now you’re showing that there’s weakness.”
Engelbert addressed the matter again during Friday’s press conference, saying she intended to meet with Collier next week. That meeting, though, was later canceled by Collier herself.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
