Bill Simmons Calls Out WNBA, Says League Needs 'Competent' Commissioner

Bill Simmons, the founder of The Ringer, believes the WNBA is in desperate need of new leadership.

During this Wednesday's game between the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever, veteran forward Alyssa Thomas was caught shoving her fist into Caitlin Clark's throat. Although it was a blatant cheap shot, the refs didn't call a foul at the time. To make matters worse,the star guard for the Fever had to eventually leave the game due to a back injury.

“Absolutely disrespectful. We spent all offseason looking at officiating, and I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “[Clark] is not called the same way as everybody else is called. The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous. … When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating.”

The WNBA announced Thursday that Thomas has received a one-game suspension and Flagrant Foul 2 for the “reckless” contact she made with Clark.

Even though Thomas has been disciplined for her ridiculous foul, Simmons thinks the WNBA is in need of a "competent commissioner" as soon as possible.

"I can’t think of the last time a pro sports league needed a competent commissioner more badly than the WNBA does right now," Simmons wrote on X. "Maybe the NBA in the early-80s pre-Stern."

Suffice to say, Simmons isn't a fan of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who has held that title since 2019.

There's a clear issue for the WNBA that needs to be addressed.

Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd ripped the WNBA this Thursday for its "weird" behavior towards Clark. His comments were not only in response to Thomas' foul, but the league's decision to keep Clark off its 30th anniversary poster.

“The WNBA just keeps driving into a wall at full speed with Caitlin Clark. They have a commemorative poster for 30 years of the WNBA; Caitlin Clark isn’t on it. This isn’t an ode to the veterans who started the league – Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese are on it. When she broke into the league, you [the WNBA] moved her road games to accommodate the fans. She made such an impact that you transitioned to private jets. And yet Caitlin isn’t on the 30-year poster,” Cowherd said. “Her games got double the ratings of A’ja Wilson, the best player in the league. This is a paranoid, weird, insular league.”

We'll see if the WNBA gets its product back on track.