WNBA All-Stars make statement with warmup shirts over CBA

INDIANAPOLIS AP The WNBA All-Stars needed to send a clear message to the league on the event s brightest stage All of the players on Gang Clark and Group Collier warmed up for Saturday night s WNBA All-Star Contest in shirts that read Pay us what you owe us We get a very tiny percentage of all the money that s made through the WNBA which obviously is made through the entertainment we provide announced Napheesa Collier on the decision to wear the shirts So we want a fair and reasonable percentage of that The idea was hatched Saturday morning at a players meeting The demonstration comes after the players and the league failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement at an in-person meeting Thursday The league s players opted out of their last CBA in October and are looking for a better revenue-sharing model increased salaries improved benefits and a softer salary cap After the failed negotiations a great number of players disclosed there was a large discrepancy between what they requested and what the league was offering If a new CBA is not reached by October chosen players including All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Angel Reese have mentioned the promising of a walkout At the end of the event chants of Pay them broke out in the arena Several fans held signs that read Pay the players during the contest We had no idea that they were in solidarity with our demonstration explained Nneka Ogwumike president of the WNBPA I ve been hearing it all weekend at the fan events supporting us and wanting us to get our fair share of the value This was potentially the last time that so a large number of players would be together in one place before the season ends a fact not lost on the union leadership This is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness for what we re doing and do it together Collier announced The players aren t decided whether they ll wear the shirts on their own teams over the unit of the second half of the season which begins Tuesday They hope that fans will wear them as the union communicated on social media during the meeting that the shirts were on sale Ogwumike was unaware that the shirts were already on sale You put it out there and you stand on business commented Courtney Williams about the shirts And we re standing on business