Latest news with #CathyEngelbert
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WNBA Players Say ‘Pay Us' as Commish Offers Sunny CBA Outlook
INDIANAPOLIS — WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert remains optimistic that a new labor deal will be struck, and in a press conference ahead of Saturday night's all-star game, she sounded confident that the league will avoid a work stoppage with three months until the deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement. A few minutes after the press conference, the WNBA All-Stars had a message of their own on T-shirts as they warmed up for the mid-season contest. 'Pay Us What You Owe Us,' the shirts read. Before the game was into the fourth quarter, versions of the shirts, officially licensed by the WNBPA, were for sale online. More from Unrivaled Gives Top College Stars NIL Deals on WNBA's Big Weekend WNBA Players Walk Away 'Frustrated' After CBA Talks Stall WNBA Players Getting Share of Expansion Fees Would Be Unique Engelbert downplayed the tension between the league and the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) during the press conference on Saturday night. The league's top executive says labor talks have been 'constructive' and suggested that there are options to extend the deadline beyond the Oct. 31 expiry date. 'We want the same things that the players want,' Engelbert said. 'We want to significantly increase their salary and benefits while balancing with our owners their ability to have a path to profitability as well as continued investment.' While Engelbert was painting a rosier picture of the state of labor talks, players led by WNBPA president and Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike wore their stark message on their warm-up shirts. It was the latest illustration of the distance between management and the union on how to distribute a sudden influx of league-wide revenue, as the game enjoys surging popularity and commercial opportunities, even as most teams are still losing money. 'You see tens of millions of dollars are being invested in practice facilities and other player experiences by teams,' Engelbert said. 'We want to strike the right balance between the two, and that will continue, because that's helped with our hyper-growth.' At the center of the labor fight is the union's demand for a revamped revenue sharing system, with players seeing a greater percentage of league revenue. Engelbert said the next model will be 'much more lucrative,' since the league is in a 'better place' than when the last accord was struck in 2020. But players have stated the recent proposals from league were far from the 'equitable' system that they're seeking. Engelbert's comments followed Thursday's CBA meeting in Indy, which saw more than 40 players attend including Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. While the session drew a historic turnout of both committee and non-committee members, the crowded room of players, officials and executives likely hindered progress in the negotiations. 'We had candid dialogue,' Engelbert said. 'This is part of the process. … I want to say that I really respect the players for listening to our owners, and we … want to make sure that we're setting up this league for decades.' Clark, who participated in Thursday's meeting along with several other next-generation WNBA stars, continued to show solidarity with the union on Saturday night. 'We should be paid more,' said Clark, who was sidelined from weekend festivities with a right groin injury. 'And hopefully that will be the case moving forward as the league continues to grow. That's probably the most important thing.' WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said she was 'very pleased' with how players presented their case during the Thursday meeting. The session, which served more as a statement to show the union's collective commitment than a typical bargaining meeting, was described by Jackson as 'the biggest of their careers,' although it turned out to be 'more of the same' as talks appear to be stalled. The WNBPA decided to opt out of its current CBA last October. The league is experiencing unprecedented growth across nearly every business metric, including ticket sales and viewership. Buoyed by $2.2 billion from new media rights deals set to kick in next year, the 13-team league plans to expand to 18 franchises by 2030. The state of negotiations was one of the main topics of conversation during player media availability on Friday. Several players who were in the meeting, including WNBPA vice president and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, chimed in on the sense of urgency the union is feeling after the latest proposals sent from the league left players unimpressed. 'We're standing firm on certain areas that we feel really strongly that we need to improve on,' Collier said on Saturday night. 'And I think we got that message across.' Best of Tennis Prize Money Tracker: Which Player Has Earned the Most in 2025? Browns Officially Get Public Money for New Stadium in Ohio Budget WNBA Franchise Valuations Ranking List: From Golden State to Atlanta
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Announces Decision On League's Officiating Problem
WNBA Announces Decision On League's Officiating Problem originally appeared on The Spun. The WNBA has been facing severe officiating criticism throughout the 2025 season. Several of the league's top players, including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, have been founding off on the league's referees. Even many of the league's top coaches have been sounding off, too. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been facing calls to do something about the league's officiating problem, whether it's hiring new referees, better training the current ones or coming up with some kind of accountability system for the league's officials as a whole. At WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, Engelbert announced that the league was "on it." Engelbert didn't hold back. "As we go forward on the officiating, we hear the concerns. We take that employee input," Engelbert said. "Every play is reviewed. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we use that then to follow up with officials' training. "Consistency is important. I think some people observe our game versus other basketball formats [and think] there aren't a ton of fouls called, but I realize consistency is the name of the game." Foul calls are up in 2025, according to a report from ESPN. "According to ESPN Research, foul calls are up slightly — with teams averaging 18.7 fouls per game, the highest since 2017 — while other metrics remain within historical norms," ESPN's Maria Lawson reported this past week. "Flagrant fouls are on pace to total 52 this season, the third most in league history when adjusted for the current 44-game schedule, but still well below last year's record of 77. Technical fouls are projected at 191, which would rank sixth most all time on an adjusted basis." Of course, complaints about the officiating are not unique to the WNBA. "As a fan of sports for 60 years now, I know that, you know, no one's ever happy with officiating. All sports deal with it," she said. "But we're working hard to make sure we're putting the best product out on the court." Still, it sounds like the WNBA's players and coaches very much want it to improve. The WNBA is working to make that happen. WNBA Announces Decision On League's Officiating Problem first appeared on The Spun on Jul 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Business
- Kuwait Times
As WNBA All-Star party wraps up, athlete pay in focus
Players voice frustration over 'poor progress' in labor negotiations INDIANAPOLIS: WNBA players wrested the spotlight of the All-Star weekend to get the fans on their side amid intensifying labor talks with the league, as the annual showcase of the sport's top talent celebrated an influx of new fans. Players took the court in Indianapolis wearing shirts that read 'Pay Us What You Owe Us,' after a meeting to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on Thursday that union members said was a missed opportunity. Fans got the message, chanting 'Pay them!' as Commissioner Cathy Engelbert appeared on the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after the final buzzer. 'To have the fans backing us - I think it means everything,' said Napheesa Collier, the All-Star Game MVP. It set the tone for the coming months, with the current CBA set to expire on October 31, after a two-day celebration of a league on the rise. Advertisements featuring the WNBA's top players blanketed the city center and jersey-wearing fans poured into town, signaling a new era for the league with national viewership up 23 percent year-over-year for the first half of the season. The only dent to the enthusiasm appeared to be the absence of Indiana Fever sharpshooter Caitlin Clark, who was expected to be the biggest attraction at the annual showcase in her home market but had to sit out the game injured. But behind the scenes, players voiced frustration over what they felt was poor progress in their labor negotiations with the league, after opting out of their current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) early. The Women's National Basketball Players Association issued a stern statement after the two sides met in Indianapolis on Thursday. A day later, players fumed over the meeting that union President Nneka Ogwumike called a 'missed opportunity,' and she said the league had taken five months to respond to the WNBPA's last proposal. 'I feel as though, if there was a response to our proposal that reflected any type of change that incorporated what we had proposed, then perhaps five months would have made a little bit more sense,' she told reporters. Engelbert struck a more positive tone, saying she felt the meeting with players had been productive.'(I'm) really optimistic that we'll get something done, that it'll be transformational,' said Engelbert, who has overseen a remarkable period of growth for the league since taking the reins in 2019. Key issues targeted by players include an increase in revenue sharing, with male counterparts in the NBA now taking home about half of basketball-related revenue, a far greater share. Fixed costs almost certainly take a larger share of the WNBA's revenue, said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor emeritus of economics at Smith College, who said that 50 percent was nonetheless still 'a perfectly feasible target for the women.' 'The players have every reason to be aggressive here,' said Zimbalist, who has consulted in the sports industry for players, teams and leagues. 'I wouldn't expect them to reach a 50 percent target immediately, but to reach it over two or three years seems entirely plausible.' Any disruption to the 2026 season stands to dent the tremendous momentum the league now enjoys, with two new clubs set to debut next year in Portland and Toronto. — Reuters
a day ago
- Sport
What to know about the viral equal pay shirts worn during WNBA All-Star Game
The players at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game delivered a very public, black and white message on the court Saturday: "Pay Us What You Owe Us." After the national anthem, all the players from both teams revealed they were sporting black T-shirts for the pre-game warmups with white script that stated their collective message. WNBA players put equal pay in the spotlight at 2025 All-Star Game Fans inside the sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis chanted in support of the equal pay messaging throughout the evening. Some of the loudest calls from the crowd to "pay them" that echoed through the arena came when WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert awarded Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier the MVP trophy. "The fans making that chant, that gave me chills," Collier told ESPN. The now-viral shirt, which has a Women's National Basketball Player's Association logo underneath the text for the players' union, is officially available through a link on the WNBAPA's Instagram. Under the backdrop of the All-Star Game and its concurrent festivities, 40 players attended meetings with the league and the players association to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, ESPN first reported. Per ESPN, "The players didn't think the meeting produced enough progress with a late October deadline looming." With more than 4 million viewers watching the All-Star Game nationwide, according to The Athletic, the players were able to shine a bright spotlight on their off-court efforts to try to earn higher salaries with more revenue entitlements. Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum told ESPN the crowd's support "was a powerful moment." "As players, we didn't know that was going to happen. So it was a genuine surprise. Those chants tonight, those signs, it just shows that as players, we are united, but the fans are united in believing what we're seeking," Plum said. The WNBA stars are not the first female athletes to fight for fair wages. Tennis legend Billie Jean King, a trailblazer for equal rights in women's sports, told"Good Morning America" previously that when she and the "original nine" made history in 1970, signing $1 contracts at the Houston Racquet Club, the moment was for female leadership for years to come. "We fought for equality," she said. "Women's tennis is the leader in women's sports on and off the court. And players today have to realize it came from that moment when we were willing to give up our careers." Progress has been made in the year's since, with now-retired soccer stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe leading the U.S. Women's National Team to a landmark equal pay agreement in 2022, following a three-year legal battle over gender discrimination.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Tattletale' Kelsey Plum awkwardly throws shade at Team Caitlin Clark
Some context here: Kelsey Plum is the first vice president of the WNBA players' association, which is fighting for better pay and other important things as the collective bargaining agreement expires later this year. So she wants to make sure there's solidarity among the players, especially on WNBA All-Star weekend when the players all wore shirts calling to make more money: "Pay Us What You Owe Us" (fans jeered commissioner Cathy Engelbert with support for the players after Saturday's game). Which brings us to this moment from Plum and Sabrina Ionescu that went viral. When speaking with reporters about the shirts, she said this: "It was a very powerful moment. As players, we didn't know that that was going to happen, so it was a genuine surprise. The t-shirt -- just united front -- was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that." She laughed, said she was trying to keep it light, and Ionescu seemed to respond sarcastically: "That really needed to be mentioned." Was Kelsey Plum really throwing shade at Caitlin Clark and her All-Star team? It's really hard to say. Every player wore the shirts, so it wasn't like they didn't show solidarity. Is this a shot at Clark that's meant to show that she's not in line with what the player's association is doing? It's all very weird.
