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Kendra AndrewsJul 17, 2025, 08:03 PM ET
INDIANAPOLIS -- More than 40 WNBA players, including Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese, gathered Thursday for a gathering betwixt the Women's National Basketball Players Association and the league to sermon ongoing negotiations connected a caller corporate bargaining agreement.
It marked the largest in-person subordinate turnout successful national past during CBA talks.
Thursday's meeting, the archetypal in-person 1 the 2 parties person had since December, lasted for a mates of hours and ended with nary resolution.
"The WNBA's effect to our proposals fails to code the priorities we've voiced from the time we opted out: a transformational CBA that delivers our rightful stock of the concern we built, improves moving conditions, and ensures the occurrence we make lifts some today's players and the generations that follow," the WNBPA said successful a statement.
Earlier this week, national president Nneka Ogwumike had expressed optimism that Thursday's gathering could beryllium beneficial and pb to an easing of hostility betwixt the sides due to the fact that it would beryllium face-to-face. But instead, the national near unsatisfied.
"We've told the league and teams precisely wherefore their connection falls truthful short," the connection said. "The concern is booming -- media rights, ratings, revenue, squad valuations, enlargement fees, attendance, and summons income -- are each up successful historical fashion. But short-changing the moving women who marque this concern imaginable stalls growth.
"The lone happening much unsustainable than the existent strategy is pretending it tin spell connected forever."
The sides did hold to different gathering this weekend.
"I don't cognize that I'm going to accidental progress, but we had spirited conversation," said Terri Carmichael Jackson, the enforcement manager of the WNBPA.
"I deliberation we're connected way to get backmost to meeting, and to engaging successful conversations that volition pb america to a CBA."
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told The Associated Press aft the gathering that some sides are successful listening mode.
"It was precise constructive dialogue. I think, you know, evidently portion of the process is to spell backmost and distant and perceive to the players, they perceive to america and the owners who correspond the committee of governors," Engelbert said. "I inactive consciousness truly optimistic that we tin get thing transformational done by the end. But it's a process."
The WNBA's new $2.2 cardinal media rights deal starts adjacent season, and the league plans to grow to 18 teams by 2030, with each of the 3 caller clubs paying a $250 cardinal enlargement fee.
Ogwumike had said that however the enlargement fees are reflected successful gross shares that spell to the players was thing successful peculiar they wanted to sermon Thursday.
The national opted retired of the existent CBA past fall, and if a caller 1 is not enactment successful spot by the extremity of October, immoderate players person mentioned the imaginable of a lockout. The league has ne'er mislaid a crippled to a enactment stoppage since it started successful 1997.
Players submitted a connection successful February that the league responded to past month. With conversations betwixt the national and the league lagging, Thursday's gathering was expected to beryllium a pivotal infinitesimal successful the dialog process.
"It's not complicated," the union's connection said. "We are committed to the fight. We are committed to returning to the negotiating table. And we volition not halt until we execute the transformational CBA this infinitesimal demands."
Information from The Associated Press was utilized successful this report.
