With just 26 seconds left in Game 3 of the semifinals, the Lynx were trailing the Mercury by four. Napheesa Collier, fighting to keep her team’s season alive, drove hard to the basket — only to crash to the floor after colliding with Alyssa Thomas. The whistle never came. No foul. No stoppage. Later, the MRI told the story no player ever wants to hear. Three Grade 2 torn ligaments and a torn muscle in her lower leg. But what no one knew in that moment was that this painful fall would become the spark for one of the most powerful speeches the WNBA has ever seen, one that would rattle the league’s leadership and make fans recall the words of Nneka Ogwumike from months earlier.

The WNBPA vice president didn’t hold back, calling the WNBA “the worst leadership group in the world.” She also re

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