As the WNBA Finals commence, I can’t help but take a look back at what has been one of the most successful, entertaining, and controversial seasons in the league’s history.
The Las Vegas Aces are up 3-0 in the seven-game series against the Phoenix Mercury, but it has been hard to concentrate on the final amid all of the contention surrounding the league.
Last week, runner-up MVP Napheesa Collier (my MVP!) gave a stunning press conference where she brought up issues that players have been facing behind the scenes.
Collier slammed commissioner Cathy Engelbert, saying “The real threat to our league isn’t money, it isn’t ratings, or even missed calls, or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.”
“The league [administration] believes that it succeeds despite its players, not because of them,” she added.
She went on to detail an interaction she had with Engelbert in February, in which the commissioner told Collier that “only the losers complain about the refs.” All season, players and coaches have expressed frustration about the excessive physicality allowed in the league and the preferential treatment that officials show some players.
Collier addressed the press after the Minnesota Lynx’s playoff dreams were crushed following their Game Four loss to the Mercury. Collier missed the game after a tangle with the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas in the final minutes of Game Three caused a season-ending ankle injury. After the missed foul call, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve confronted officials, leading to a $15,000 fine—the largest in league history—and a suspension from Game Four.
The strained relationship between players and league officials didn’t just pop up out of nowhere.
At the midpoint of the season, as players were negotiating their collective bargaining agreement (CBA), players and fans alike met in Indianapolis for All-Star Weekend. I could have written an article about this weekend alone, but alas.
The pinnacle of the weekend was undoubtedly the All-Stars coming out for the game in warm-up shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us,” referencing their failed negotiations with the league. A close runner up though, was the viral “Studbudz” stream by Lynx players Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman.
While league viewership, attendance, and revenue have skyrocketed, player salaries have remained stagnant. Players have been involved in CBA negotiations with the league all season, hoping to increase their revenue share to match the increased league profits..
“We’re seeing expansion, and the players are just saying, ‘Hey, let us have our fair share of that,’” Nneka Ogwumike, Players Union President and Seattle Storm All-Star, told ESPN in August. “Sometimes that means proposing something new that makes sense for the time.”
The current CBA expires Oct. 31, and there is no viable deal set to take its place. A lockout would be unprecedented—the NBA has had several lockouts, but never the WNBA—however, it might be the only way to get the attention of a league that is constantly ignoring its players.
One of the most frustrating parts of the season for me was over the summer, when Engelbert blocked the sale of the Connecticut Sun to former Celtics minority owner Stephen Pagliuca to move the team to Boston. Pagliuca and the Mohegan Tribe, which owns the Sun, reached a deal and brought it to the league in July. Engelbert and the Board of Governors blocked the sale, leaving both Pagliuca and me hanging. Engelbert wants the league to buy the team, which they would subsequently sell to billionaire Houston Rockets owner and conservative donor Tilman Fertitta.
I would be the first to say that Houston deserves a team. The Houston Comets—which my parents had season tickets for—was the league’s first dynasty, but was disbanded in 2008. For a league that already relies too heavily on the NBA, however, another NBA owner owning a team would only exacerbate the already problem-riddled institution. Houston needs their Comets back, not the “Houston Sun.” Keeping the Sun in New England would both maintain the team’s fanbase and increase it exponentially. According to Engelbert, though, Boston is not on the nine-city list of valuable markets.
The professional sports industry has been plagued for years by an inability to take a stand on any political issues that directly impact its athletes and fans. The WNBA, to its credit, has recently been supportive of its players’ identities, most of whom are Black women. The league also has a large percentage of queer women.
Some organizations, however, have been doing little to mitigate the hate that has wormed its way into the league.
Take the Indiana Fever: the team’s fanbase has grown substantially with the entrance of Caitlin Clark, but it is a prime example of excusing politics as secondary to business. Clark, numerous times, has neglected or waited too long to condemn the racism that her fans express against Angel Reese. When she does speak out, she makes watered down statements that suggest her complicity. At one game in July, a fan wearing a Clark shirt was removed from a game after making a “threat” against Sun rookie Saniya Rivers.
To her credit, Clark did back Collier’s statements against Engelbert last week. Of course, she declined to comment until all of the other players had already voiced support. When she did comment, she simply said Collier’s points were “very valid.” That’s it, very valid. Nothing more to say, I guess.
In a season that has been filled with controversy and disappointment, one bright spot remains on the horizon: Unrivaled.
Founded by Collier and New York Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart, the 3×3 league takes place in the offseason, allowing players to compete while getting around the WNBA’s overseas prioritization rule. The league, which is going into its second season this winter, is financially backed by a number of big names including Coco Gauff, Stephen Curry, Michael Phelps, and Alex Morgan.
Unrivaled is valued at $340 million and paid the highest salaries in American women’s team sports history in its debut season—a fact that should humiliate WNBA leadership.
