WNBA stars unite in powerful six-word statement over CBA ahead of All-Stars clash
All players on Team Clark and Team Collier warmed up for Saturday night's WNBA All-Star Game in shirts that read 'Pay us what you owe us.'
'We get a very tiny percentage of all the money that's made through the WNBA, which obviously is made through the entertainment we provide,' Napheesa Collier said on the decision to wear the shirts.
'So we want a fair and reasonable percentage of that.'
The idea was hatched Saturday morning at a players meeting.
The demonstration comes after the players and the league failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement at an in-person meeting Thursday. The league's players opted out of their last CBA in October, and are looking for a better revenue-sharing model, increased salaries, improved benefits and a softer salary cap.
After the failed negotiations, many players said there was a large discrepancy between what they wanted and what the league was offering.
If a new CBA is not reached by October some players, including All-Stars Collier and Angel Reese, have mentioned the potential of a walkout.
At the end of the game, chants of 'Pay them!' broke out in the arena. Some fans held signs that read 'Pay the players,' during the game.
'We had no idea that they were in solidarity with our demonstration,' said Nneka Ogwumike, president of the WNBPA.
'I've been hearing it all weekend at the fan events, supporting us and wanting us to get our fair share of the value.'
This was potentially the last time that so many players would be together in one place before the season ends — a fact not lost on the union leadership.
'This is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness for what we're doing and do it together,' Collier said.
The players aren't decided whether they'll wear the shirts on their own teams over the course of the second half of the season which begins Tuesday.
They hope that fans will wear them as the union announced on social media during the game that the shirts were on sale.
Ogwumike was unaware that the shirts were already on sale.
'You put it out there, and you stand on business,' Courtney Williams said about the shirts.
'And we're standing on business.'
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The Advertiser
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"At various stages we haven't beaten those sides we should have beaten and that is going to be our next challenge. "If we concentrate firmly on the next shift, where our feet are right now, we are going to be OK." Jarrod Witts' rucking wares are being heralded as All-Australian worthy, while Gold Coast, in reach of a top-four finish, keep their feet in new AFL territory. The Suns' historic 66-point QClash victory on Saturday gave them, with five regular-season games to play, a club-best 12th win this season. Four of those games come against teams not in finals contention, leaving the Suns in the hunt for a top-four finish in what would be their maiden post-season foray. Witts, two games shy of his 200th AFL game, has been critical in that run. The 32-year-old helped turn the screws against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday as the Suns' midfield upstaged the Lions' for their biggest QClash win. Unprompted, Hardwick launched a campaign for the ruckman post-game. 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"It is every side's challenge, isn't it," Hardwick said. "The sides we are talking about, they are going to have their moments and they are going to play well. "At various stages we haven't beaten those sides we should have beaten and that is going to be our next challenge. "If we concentrate firmly on the next shift, where our feet are right now, we are going to be OK." Jarrod Witts' rucking wares are being heralded as All-Australian worthy, while Gold Coast, in reach of a top-four finish, keep their feet in new AFL territory. The Suns' historic 66-point QClash victory on Saturday gave them, with five regular-season games to play, a club-best 12th win this season. Four of those games come against teams not in finals contention, leaving the Suns in the hunt for a top-four finish in what would be their maiden post-season foray. Witts, two games shy of his 200th AFL game, has been critical in that run. The 32-year-old helped turn the screws against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday as the Suns' midfield upstaged the Lions' for their biggest QClash win. Unprompted, Hardwick launched a campaign for the ruckman post-game. "Can I make a statement about Jarrod Witts? Can we start having a conversation?" he posed when asked about the performance of Witts' star on-ballers Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson. "I watched TV the other day, they had a list of ruckmen that are in the mix. Go and have a look at what our guy's done to all those guys." Before Saturday, Witts had collected the seventh-most coaches' votes of all ruckmen, his 26 dwarfed by leaders Brodie Grundy (65) and Max Gawn (59). "Have the conversation about how good this guy's become,": Hardwick said. "These guys (Suns midfielders) should be buying him coffee every day. Unbelievable. "I'd love to have him as All-Australian … I wouldn't pick another one." The Suns play Richmond, Carlton, GWS, Essendon and Port Adelaide in the run to a potential first finals campaign. Only the Giants are a shot of joining them, although emotion will be high when the Power play their final game under long-time mentor Ken Hinkley. "It is every side's challenge, isn't it," Hardwick said. "The sides we are talking about, they are going to have their moments and they are going to play well. "At various stages we haven't beaten those sides we should have beaten and that is going to be our next challenge. "If we concentrate firmly on the next shift, where our feet are right now, we are going to be OK."
