As the conflict between WNBA leadership and players heats up, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has described the current problems facing the women’s league as “growing pains” and that building relationships is necessary for future growth.
The WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) are in the midst of tense labour negotiations, with the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) set to expire on October 31.
Last week, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier read out a scathing statement, aimed at the WNBA’s leadership and the league’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert.
“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,” Collier said during her post-season exit interview.
Collier characterised Engelbert’s attitude towards the players’ grievances as indifferent and that the commissioner told her earlier in the year that “Caitlin [Clark] should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't make anything”.
That was allegedly in response to Collier’s questions to the commissioner about how players like Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers can drive so much revenue to the league while being underpaid.
According to Collier, Engelbert also said: “Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”
In her statement, Collier concluded that “we have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But right now we have the worst leadership in the world”.
Engelbert has since denied making those statements about WNBA superstar Clark, but added that “if the players in the W don’t feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better.
“If they don’t feel that [appreciation], then I will do everything I can to change that.”
Players have voiced their support for Collier, who is a WNBPA vice president and co-founder of the 3x3 league "Unrivaled". Her statement has rocked the league with the clock ticking towards the October 31 deadline.
The NBA holds a 42 per cent ownership stake in the WNBA, and that figure goes up to nearly 60 per cent if the personal investments from NBA owners is taken into account.
In an interview with The National last week in Abu Dhabi, NBA commissioner Silver was asked about the reason behind the big disconnect between WNBA players and the league’s leadership during this period of the W’s soaring popularity.
“It’s a different situation, of course, in the WNBA right now than the NBA. It's a younger league. They're going through an enormous growth stage right now,” Silver said last Thursday.
“Commissioner Engelbert, in the six years that she's been presiding over the league, there's been probably more growth than in any league that's in existence right now.
“And I think with that comes what we're seeing are obviously growing pains. In addition, they're in the middle of a collective bargaining cycle.
“We have, of course, a great Finals with Phoenix and Las Vegas. So we'd love attention to be on the competition on the floor, which I'm looking forward to watching.
“Then we need to sit down with the players and get a new collective bargaining agreement done. And then we can all sort of sit down and sort of build these relationships that are necessary for future growth.”
Silver discussed several other matters during the interview, including the rapidly changing media landscape within which the NBA is operating.
Over the past few years, several active players have launched their own podcasts, which allows them to share instant commentary and reaction to things that are happening in the league.
As well as having their own podcast, some players, like Draymond Green, have also been part of live studio coverage of games, once their team has been eliminated from the competition.
Silver weighed in on the evolution of the media landscape, and whether it’s tricky keeping tabs on everything that’s posted online every day.
"I encourage the players to find their own voice. I think the fans love it, to the extent that they can hear a player's perspective directly.”
The podcast space has particularly come to the fore in recent weeks, thanks to the shocking revelations from Pablo Torre’s seven-month-long investigation – released on his podcast – which alleges that LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million no-show endorsement deal with a startup funded by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer as a way to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap rules.
Leonard and Ballmer have both denied the allegations but the NBA has launched an independent investigation.
“There's a strong role for journalists in this league,” Silver continued. “Sometimes that role, as a journalist, is to be an investigator into issues they see in the league. And then it's my role to the extent that they're presenting to the public findings from their journalism to step in and say, 'Alright, there's enough evidence here or enough of an issue that we need to bring in our own investigators, bring in outside law firms and do investigations too'."
