Gamers, followers put CBA middle stage throughout WNBA All-Star Weekend

INDIANAPOLIS — “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”

It was a easy message emblazoned throughout the shirts of gamers throughout warm-ups earlier than Saturday’s WNBA All-Star sport, but in addition an encapsulation of the weekend.

For as profitable and large as every part was about All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, there was one prevailing matter that dominated the dialog even earlier than the gamers took the ground on Saturday: The looming CBA expiration.

The WNBA’s development has been fast and seismic. Unsurprisingly, the town of the league’s hottest staff turned out in an enormous means.

Followers got here out in droves, whether or not it was for All-Stars, WNBA gamers or school athletes not even but within the league. And but, irrespective of if it was a pop-up store, sponsored occasion or a easy meet-and-greet, the dialog virtually at all times got here again to the identical matter.

And it was the followers who acquired the ultimate phrase on the matter.

Following Workforce Collier’s 151-131 win — and in the course of the MVP ceremony for captain Napheesa Collier — the followers drowned out WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert with “Pay them” chants.

The present collective bargaining settlement is ready to run out on Oct. 31. The aforementioned development of the league implies that it has fully outgrown its present CBA in some ways, and drastic modifications are wanted.

A becoming tone-setter for the weekend noticed almost 40 gamers meet with the homeowners and Engelbert for negotiations on Thursday. The sensation that emerged from that assembly, nevertheless, was frustration greater than anything.

The league’s development, particularly in latest seasons, has began to make clear the necessity for vital enchancment within the new CBA, creating an unavoidable dichotomy obvious all through the weekend.

Previous to the sport, Engelbert spoke to the media and raved about how the league’s record-breaking viewership (up 22%), attendance (up 26%) and merch gross sales (up 40%) have risen throughout the board. In that very same spot 24 hours earlier, Liberty guard Natasha Cloud instructed reporters she’d use her winnings from taking house the trophy within the expertise problem as a down fee on a home.

To additional illustrate how outdated the CBA is, the league at present pays out solely $2,575 to the winners of Friday’s occasions. A partnership between the WNBPA and Aflac led to Cloud incomes $55,000 for successful the talents problem and Sabrina Ionescu incomes $60,000 after being topped a winner once more within the 3-point shootout.

Ionescu revealed postgame that she had promised half of her winnings to rookie Sonia Citron, who additionally took half within the 3-point contest. That determine represents almost half of Citron’s wage of $78,831 this season.

“I believe that’s one of many issues that we’re within the room combating for,” Caitlin Clark mentioned of upper salaries earlier than Saturday’s sport. “We must be paid extra and, hopefully, that’s the case shifting ahead because the league continues to develop. I believe that’s in all probability an important factor that we’re within the room advocating about.”

The gamers made their loudest assertion with their shirts earlier than the sport, a transparent indication of the place they felt issues stood in negotiations with homeowners. That got here moments after Engelbert had expressed a way more optimistic outlook on CBA negotiations, additional highlighting the numerous distance between the 2 sides.

“I need to name it constructive,” Engelbert mentioned of the talks this weekend. “We had candid dialogue. That is a part of the method…I would like quite a lot of the identical issues the gamers need. I mentioned that final time, too. It’s not modified.

“However we additionally must have a course of the place we shuttle. We’re within the course of. Once more, I’m nonetheless actually optimistic that we’ll get one thing executed that can be transformational and subsequent 12 months at All-Star we’ll be speaking about how nice every part is. Clearly, there’s quite a lot of onerous work to be executed on each side to get there.”

To name this upcoming CBA essential could be fairly the understatement. The league’s improve in recognition has been akin to a rocket ship taking off. The query now could be what sort of rocket will the league mimic: a miniature mannequin that rapidly comes again right down to Earth when tossed into the air, or a NASA spaceship that heads into the good unknown and retains rising?

This subsequent CBA will go a really great distance in figuring out what that future appears like.

“A CBA (deal) is seven years,” Collier mentioned. “You by no means understand how for much longer it’s a must to play and so clearly I’m taking this actually severely for myself, but in addition for the long run generations we’re organising the subsequent CBA. You at all times have to consider that as properly and so the choices which can be made right here have an effect on lots of people and so in fact we’re taking it actually severely.”

As a lot because the gamers might have a unified message, getting the backing of the followers felt like a considerable growth, too. Delivering the message was essential, however gaining a foothold within the courtroom of public opinion was much more vital.

“It was a really highly effective second,” mentioned Kelsey Plum, the present First Vice President of the WNBPA. “It’s extraordinarily essential.. as a result of it applies stress and even these chants tonight, the indicators, I believe it simply exhibits that, clearly, as gamers we’re united, however the followers are united in what they imagine that we’re we’re in search of and that’s extraordinarily essential as a result of that stress might put quite a lot of good issues on the desk for us.”

Plum referred to as it a profitable weekend due to their means to carry consciousness to the matter, however in the end, the weekend represented many issues.

There was an enormous missed alternative concurrently the league was reaping the rewards of its development. There was frustration with how issues began and optimism with how they completed.

Ultimately, the gamers made their message loud and clear with the six phrases unfold throughout their shirts.

“The gamers are what’s constructing this model and this league,” Collier mentioned. “There is no such thing as a league with out the gamers and previous, current, those arising. They’re those which have put within the blood, sweat and tears for the brand new cash that’s coming in. We really feel like we’re owed a chunk of that pie that we helped to create.”