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Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, begins play on Jan. 17. But before the first game could be played, the league had a press conference on Tuesday with some of its biggest starts, including 10-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner.
Griner answered several questions at the event, but perhaps the biggest one involved the WNBA’s impending CBA negotiatons. The Phoenix Mercury superstar was not shy about discussing the negotiations between the league its player associations, and it does sound like she or her fellow players are expecting to make any concessions.
“Unrivaled is showing that you don’t need a lot of time to pool resources together,” she said according to reporter Myles Ehrlich. “Being happy with what we already have is not gonna fly [here]… it’ll definitely put pressure on [the W] to do better.”
Griner is far from the first WNBA star to take aim at the league. Seattle Storm star and WNBA players association president Nneka Ogwumike made the players’ stance clear when they opted out of the current CBA in October.
“We are ready to lead transformational change — change that goes beyond women’s sports and sets a precedent for something greater,” Ogwumike said. “Opting out isn’t just about bigger paychecks — it’s about claiming our rightful share of the business we’ve built, improving working conditions, and securing a future where the success we create benefits today’s players and the generations to come. We’re not just asking for a CBA that reflects our value; we’re demanding it, because we’ve earned it.”
There is, however, one major problem. The WNBA still isn’t profitable, and its stakeholders are becoming restless. The NBA and its team owners also own around 75 percent of the women’s league, which lost $40 million last season.
Now it seems the league is facing pressure both from owners and players. Where decision makers go from here is anyone’s guess.