🔥 LIVE SHOWDOWN: Fever Fans CHANT “PAY THEM” to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert at 2025 All-Star Game — Moment Goes VIRAL!

Unprecedented Fan Protest Erupts During Live Broadcast — Chants of “PAY THEM” Shake the Arena as Commissioner Stands Frozen in Spotlight!

Las Vegas, July 20, 2025 — What was supposed to be a night of celebration and star power turned into a live televised flashpoint of protest, as Indiana Fever fans stunned the nation by erupting into a thunderous chant of “PAY THEM!” directed at WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert during her mid-game address at the 2025 All-Star Game.

The moment was captured live on ABC, and instantly trended across every major social media platform. In less than 30 seconds, what began as a fan-led chant spiraled into one of the most defiant and unified protests in WNBA history.

📣 “PAY THEM! PAY THEM!” — A Chilling Chorus in Real Time

As Engelbert stood courtside, mic in hand, beginning her planned remarks on league growth, expansion, and partnerships, something unprecedented unfolded behind her: a block of Indiana Fever fans stood up in unison and began chanting “PAY THEM!”

At first, the chant echoed faintly. But within seconds, half the arena had joined in, the words bouncing off the rafters, drowning out the commissioner’s carefully prepared speech.

On live TV, the production team tried to lower the crowd mic — but it was too late.

The chant was deafening.

Engelbert paused.

And for five full seconds, she said nothing.

😳 Players React — Some Silently, Some Powerfully

Footage shows Caitlin Clark glancing toward the section of Fever fans, nodding with visible emotion, then turning to teammates and clapping in solidarity.

Angel Reese raised a fist from the bench.
Sabrina Ionescu mouthed, “Let them talk.”
A’ja Wilson stood with arms crossed, her face unreadable — but focused.

It wasn’t just a chant anymore.

It was a message.

🗣️ Cathy Engelbert’s Tense Response

After regaining composure, Engelbert tried to continue:

“We hear you. We see the passion. We are working toward sustainable growth—”

But she was cut off again, this time not by fans, but by a wave of boos and more chants:

“Back it up with money! Back it up with action!”

Never before had a WNBA commissioner been publicly confronted like this, live, mid-broadcast, in front of millions.

💻 Social Media Eruption: #PayThem Trends Instantly

The moment triggered an immediate online explosion:

#PayThem and #WNBAProtest trended No.1 worldwide on X (formerly Twitter)

The original broadcast clip was reposted over 7 million times within two hours

ESPN, CNN, and even BBC picked up the story within the hour

One viral tweet read:

“That wasn’t just a chant. That was a revolution in real time.”

💥 Why Are Fans So Angry? The Context Behind the Chant

Despite surging popularity, higher TV ratings, sold-out arenas, and new generational stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and JuJu Watkins — WNBA salaries remain shockingly low.

Average WNBA player salary (2025): $78,000

NBA G-League average: $2.3 million

WNBA rookie max contract: $76,535

Fans — particularly Fever fans who’ve followed Caitlin Clark’s journey — have become increasingly vocal about the pay gap, especially when their favorite players carry the league’s visibility and merchandise sales.

🎤 Caitlin Clark Speaks Post-Game

In the post-game press conference, Caitlin Clark addressed the chant head-on:

“That chant wasn’t just about us as players. It was about every girl who watches this league and dreams of being here one day — and knowing she’ll be respected, not just praised.”

Thunderous applause followed.

📷 Iconic Image Emerges: “The Five Seconds of Silence”

A photo now going viral shows Cathy Engelbert standing mid-speech, her mouth open, mic in hand — as behind her, dozens of fans hold up signs that read:
“They Play. You Pay.”

The caption trending underneath?
“The 5 Seconds That Changed the League.”

⚖️ Is the League on the Edge of a Reckoning?

Several WNBA insiders are already calling the protest a “tipping point.” Pressure is now on league officials, sponsors, and media partners to respond not with statements, but with policy and paychecks.

The WNBPA (Women’s National Basketball Players Association) issued a midnight tweet:

“You heard them. Now act.”

📝 Final Word: From Applause to Action

For years, WNBA players have asked politely. Spoken diplomatically. Waited patiently.

Tonight, the fans took the mic for them.
And the league will never be the same.

The chant may have lasted just 90 seconds.
But the echo will be heard for decades.

“PAY THEM.”
It wasn’t just a chant.
It was a promise.

WNBA Commissioner booed by crowd chanting ‘Pay Them!’ Cathy Engelbert’s legacy is at stake

INDIANAPOLIS — In case their message to the WNBA and its owners wasn’t already clear, the players sent another one ahead of the All-Star Game.

Taking the court for warmups, every single player wore a black T-shirt with “Pay Us What You Owe Us” emblazoned across the front.

“We should be paid more and hopefully that’s the case moving forward as we continue to grow,” Caitlin Clark said ahead of Saturday night’s game. “That’s probably the most important thing that we’re advocating for.”

The players’ unwavering stance stands in stark contrast to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s almost-Pollyannish take in her annual “state of the union” address. To hear Engelbert tell it, everything is hunky dory and this is just the normal back-and-forth that occurs in every labor negotiation”I want to call it constructive. We had a candid dialogue and this is part of the process,” Engelbert said.Maybe that’s what Engelbert has to say publicly. But she had better be far more unsparing when she’s talking to WNBA owners. Because this contract won’t only be transformational for the WNBA and its players, it will define Engelbert’s legacy.

Engelbert will either be the commissioner who oversaw a historic righting of wrongs for women athletes. Or she’ll be the one who drove this rocket-fueled league into a ditch.

“I just want to say I really respect the players,” Engelbert said before the game. “The goal (is) to have a fair CBA for all. I want a lot of the same things the players want. I said that last time, too, and it’s not changed. But we also have to have a process where we go back and forth, and that’s where we are in the process.

“So again, still really optimistic that we’ll get something done, that it’ll be transformational, and that next year at All-Star we’ll be talking about how great everything is,” Engelbert said. “But, obviously, there’s a lot of hard work to be done on both sides to get there.”

The crowd booed Engelbert and chanted “Pay Them! Pay Them!” as she presented the All-Star MVP trophy to Napheesa Collier, whose team beat Team Clark 151-131

Again, Engelbert has to speak carefully. She answers not only to the WNBA owners, but to the NBA. Anyone who’s ever heard NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speak for more than 30 seconds understands this.

But the players aren’t stupid, and Engelbert would be wise to remember that when she tries to sell a narrative that is as insulting as it is disingenuous.

Take what she said about revenue sharing. This, along with higher salaries, is a priority for the players, who see the league and its owners reaping the benefits of the WNBA’s popularity and wonder when it’s going to be their turn.

When Engelbert was asked about this, she said the league has revenue sharing. Sorry, but players only getting 10% when all of the major men’s professional leagues have 50/50 splits, is not revenue sharing. It’s an allowance.

A bad one at that.

“We want to significantly increase their salary and benefits while balancing with our owners’ ability to have a path to profitability, as well as to continued investment,” Engelbert said.

“You see tens of millions of dollars being invested in practice facilities and other player experiences by teams, and we want to strike the right balance between those two,” Engelbert said. “That’s helped our hypergrowth, it’s helped our free agency, it’s helped our players play in places where they’re getting a great player experience.”

And therein is the disconnect.No one ever asks NBA or NFL players to take a discount because they’ve got a swanky new locker room or are flying charter. These are considered the cost of doing business in the big leagues, and it should be no different in the WNBA. The players deserve first-class facilities because they’re world-class athletes, and they shouldn’t have to forego some of their earnings to get them.

It’s true the NBA helped keep the league afloat for many years — though just once I’d like the folks who use this to diminish the W to consider the systemic misogyny responsible for this — and those owners want compensation for that investment. But team valuations are not skyrocketing and sponsors are not flocking to the W because of the owners.

They’re coming because of the players. Because of Clark and Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese and Napheesa Collier and Sabrina Ionescu and, soon, Azzi Fudd and JuJu Watkins.

“Having new brands come in, having new sponsors come in, is exactly what we want. We just also want to reap the benefits of that,” said Collier, who was an All-Star captain along with Clark. “We’ve been a part of that growth. We just want to make sure that we are also getting a cut of all this new money that’s coming in.”Engelbert gushed about All-Star weekend, and rightfully so. It wasn’t so long ago that this was a game and little else. Now it’s an event, with parties and sponsor activations and celebrities courtside and a fanfest and merch stores and, and, and — same as the NBA’s All-Star Game. The players inserted themselves into casual conversation, with A’ja Wilson dropping a new show and the “StudBudz” becoming an internet sensation

It was a celebration of what the WNBA has become and a glimpse of everything still to come, and shame on Engelbert if she can’t make the NBA and WNBA owners recognize the gold mine they’re sitting on.

“We’re not going to be in hypergrowth forever. No company ever is,” Engelbert said. “So it’s how to continue to sustain this momentum, gain on it, grow and, ultimately, globalizing the game.”

And define her legacy as commissioner. The clock is ticking on more than just these CBA negotiation