Sep 30, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts from the bench after a play made by the Las Vegas Aces during the fourth quarter of game five of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark's WNBA Leadership Stance Gets 2-Word Fact Check From Expert

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 11:31 AM ET

When speaking with the media after the Indiana Fever's 2025 WNBA season on October 3, superstar guard Caitlin Clark addressed Napheesa Collier's now-notorious criticism of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, which has been the biggest story in women's basketball ever since Collier spoke a few days before Clark.

"I have great respect for Phee, and I think she made a lot of very valid points. I think what people need to understand is, we need great leadership in this time, across all levels. This is straight-up the most important moment in our league. Where this league has been around for 25-plus years, and this is a moment we have to capitalize on," Clark said, per an X post from @ericaf455.

She later added, “I’d say the most important part of leadership, whether that’s the WNBA, whether that’s corporate America, I think it comes down to relationships and really caring about the people you surround yourself with... Why would my teammates want to listen to me if I didn’t have a relationship with them? I think it’s the most simple thing, and you have to be very intentional about seeking those out and understanding your teammates.”

Clark received a lot of praise for these comments, as many felt like this was a poignant stance from someone who is just 23 years old but has a lot of high-level leadership experience.

Leadership Mentor Appraises Caitlin Clark's Comments

However, how do Clark's leadership comments hold up when they're appraised by Dr. Ruth Gotian, who is an executive coach and leadership mentor for Olympians and NBA players?

Pretty well. Gotian was asked to appraise Clark's comments about WNBA leadership by The Athletic for an October 10 article. And Gotian's initial response to Clark's comments was, "She's right."

Gotian went on to discuss how she would even take Clark's comments a stop further, saying that the capacity to build strong relationship is a foundational quality for a leaders to have.

Guess who the expert is.

Caitlin Clark said the most important part of leadership is relationships. We asked an expert https://t.co/70NtfVS073
— Ruth (Ginsburg) Gotian, EdD, MS (@RuthGotian) October 10, 2025

But Gotian also noted that merely having a relationship with the people one is supposed to be leading isn't enough in most cases. Instead, it's the quality of these relationships — specifically how much trust can be cultivated and developed within them — that's more important than just having relationships in the first place.

There's clearly a lack of trust between Engelbert and the WNBA players right now, and it doesn't seem like both sides are close to bridging the gap between them. This is why many feel like it might be inevitable that Engelbert's time as the league commissioner could be running out.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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