"The WNBA and its labor force are in the midst of a contentious, high-stakes CBA negotiation, which could not be happening at a more interesting historical juncture. Women's sports have seen explosive growth in their popularity over the past few years, which is not without its tensions. Namely: the class of people who have benefited most from all that growth are not the athletes themselves, but rather the team owners. This negotiation represents the most significant attempt by players to get what's owed to them."
"The way to understand this is through a pair of recent, conjoined cheating scandals that involved WNBA owners stretching or breaking the rules to compensate their players outside of what was allowed. Joe and Clara Wu Tsai of the New York Liberty and Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Aces are seen as paragons of the new class of WNBA owners, in that they want to win and are willing to spend money to do so."
"There's a lot to get into here, and nobody better to talk with than Maitreyi Anantharaman. Defector readers will be familiar with her work on the WNBA, labor, and labor in the WNBA. Maitreyi and I had a great conversation about the history and future of WNBA players trying to get paid and how these cheating scandals inform that fight."
WNBA players are engaged in a contentious, high-stakes collective bargaining negotiation at a pivotal historical moment. Women's sports have experienced explosive recent growth in popularity, and team owners have captured most financial gains rather than athletes. Two recent, connected cheating scandals revealed owners compensating players outside league rules, including charter flights, private school tuition, and salary-doubling by tourism officials. Joe and Clara Wu Tsai and Mark Davis exemplify owners who spend heavily to win, sometimes using improper methods. Players are pursuing a significant effort to secure greater pay and rights through the CBA negotiations.
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