When Studbudz got Courtney Williams on livestream duties, they knew what they were doing. She was apparently ‘stressed’ before kicking off the All-Star festivities. Why? Because of a little big something called the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The first in-person meeting for that took place the day before the All-Star Weekend began. As most could predict, the WNBA and the players union didn’t come to a compromise on their respective stances. The WNBPA in particular issued a scathing response. Yet it did not dampen the mood of the weekend in Indiana.
Indianapolis is the place to be right now. On Thursday it hosted the CBA talks and now it’s on the first day of the WNBA All-Star Weekend. In between, there was the StudBudz party to kick off everything. The highlight was the amazing Courtney Williams making sure we got every glimpse of the party on a live stream.
One of the viral moments she captured were of the WNBA commissioner herself. Cathy Engelbert was having the time of her life among her players and WNBA guests. She didn’t say anything on the live stream though. That’s because she was busy having fun.
There’s half a minute of the commissioner letting lose to Crime Mob’s “Knuck If You Buck” (no, not kidding, for real). That same song that calls out haters in, “I bet y’all I’ma throw them things, so haters best to think twice.” And yes, Engelbert needs some of the hate-calling energy right now.
WNBA COMMISSIONER, CATHY ENGELBERT, DANCING TO “KNUCK IF YOU BUCK” BY CRIME MOB????????
STUDBUDZ HAS GONE TOO FARRRRR, BRUH pic.twitter.com/pWbEwMwvcj
— zavanté (@taylenciaga) July 19, 2025
She didn’t show any signs of stress at the party. At least not overtly. Hard to tell that things were shaky that day from her throwdown.
The WNBA initially rejected the players’ counter proposal before the meeting in Indianapolis. The first round of CBA talks fell through on Thursday. Moreover, the WNBPA’s response to it was stern. Caitlin Clark was at the party where she and her brother called out refs for her injured status. In every way, the pressure is on the WNBA commissioner this All-Star exhibition.
CBA talks create a stressful All-Star atmosphere
Nneka Ogwumike downplayed the possibility of a lockout if CBA doesn’t go through. She was counting on All-Star presence to stress on the players’ POV. These talks yesterday featured at least 40 players in attendance, including Caitlin Clark and Courtney Williams.
The Lynx star, though, was glad to be done with it. “That CBA meeting stressed me out. I gotta get my energy back together. I gotta go to the room and get me a shot or something,” she said after the closed-door meeting.
While we don’t know what went down exactly in the meeting, it left several WNBA pros upset. The players union also responded in a statement saying, “The WNBA’s response to our proposals fails to address the priorities we’ve voiced from the day we opted out: a transformational CBA that delivers our rightful share of the business that we’ve built, improves working conditions and ensures the success we create lifts both today’s players and the generations that follow.”
They were able to shake it off and wind down at the Studbudz event. And not just the players. From the looks of it, the commissioner needed that respite too. We’ll have to wait and see if dancing and mingling with her players will move the CBA talks further along before the season ends in September.
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