Indianapolis – As a WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, awarded the Minnesota Lynx Napheesa Collier the MVP Trophy of the All -Star 2025 game, songs of “Pay them!” I liked the closed window crowds of more than 16,000 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The noise was booming, some of the noisiest songs of the night. A little smile spread over the necklace’s face.
The fans echoed the message that the players sent during heating on Saturday evening when they wore black shirts that read “pay us what you owe us”. The collective demonstration occurred two days after more than 40 players met the League in the last series of collective negotiations for negotiation agreements. The players did not think that the meeting had produced enough progress with a deadline at the end of October.
Thus, as a national public attentive to one of the most anticipated All-Star WNBA games to date, players have highlighted their behind-the-scenes fight to guarantee higher wages and greater income.
“It was a powerful moment,” said Los Angeles Sparks goalkeeper Kelsey Plum about the support of the crowd. “We do not have, at least as players, we did not know that it was going to happen. So it was a real surprise. These songs tonight, these signs, it simply shows that as players, we are united, but the fans are united to believe what we are looking for.”
“Fans do this song,” added necklace, “it gave me chills.”
Knowing that they wanted to make a statement on Saturday evening, the players gathered for a closed -door meeting in the morning and decided that wearing shirts would send their message in a clear and concise way.
“We wanted to do something that was united as a collective, and I thought it was a very powerful moment and that passed the point,” said Plum. “Sometimes you have nothing to say.”
This is not the first time that WNBA players have used their platforms to make a public collective stand. In the 2020 bubble, they wore several shirts to support the demonstrations of Black Lives Matter. In the second half of the 2022 stars match, they wore Brittney Griner jerseys when she was owned in Russia.
Make another statement during this year’s stars weekend was not accidentally been. This is the only time of year when all the most eminent players in the League are gathered. In the heels of ABC negotiations on Thursday, players thought that the moment could not be better.
The display overshadowed an all-star game that is also boring. With the support of spectators in the arena, by far, the players hope that this will apply more pressure on the league as the discussions continue.
“The mission was accomplished because we have built an incredible amount of awareness this weekend,” said Plum.
The players said that a major catch in the negotiations was the salary structure and the sharing of income. According to the president of the WNBPA, Nneka Ogwumike, the League and the Syndicat offer two systems, the league wanting a fixed percentage and the players who want “a better part where our wages increase with the company, and not only a fixed percentage over time”.
With the WNBA, huge growth in recent years – including a new media agreement of $ 2.2 billion and surgery expansion fees of $ 250 million – players want a salary structure which, in collar words, gives them a “[larger] piece of the pie that we helped create. “”
“We see the growth of the league, and as it stands, the current salary system does not really pay us what we owe,” said Ogwumike about the shirt slogan. “And we want to be able to advance this just part, especially since we see all investments, and we want to be able to reflect our wages in a structure that makes sense for us.”
The union has announced on social networks that officially licensed shirts “Pay us what you owe us” are on sale for the public.
“Players are what builds this brand and this league,” said necklace. “There is no league without the players, and the past, present, those who arrive, they are the ones who have put blood, sweat and tears for the new money that is coming.”
With the second half of the WNBA season on Tuesday – and the eliminatory race warning – the players will try to rely on the momentum this week.
Ogwumike and Engelbert reiterated on Saturday that they are optimistic, an agreement can be concluded this year.
“It’s the plan,” said Ogwumike. “We do everything you need to get a good deal. This is exactly what we want to do.”
