Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers make CBA stance 100% clear
The WNBA CBA (collective bargaining agreement) negotiations have been the hot topic since the league and players' meeting ahead of All-Star Weekend, and the players seemingly just doubled down on their solidarity. A source in the W has unveiled to ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne that three of the biggest young stars, the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark, Chicago Sky's Angel Reese, and Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers, confirmed they're fully on board with the rest of the WNBA's players on their mission for equitable pay.
After all 22 All-Stars in attendance in Indiana donned 'Pay Us What You Owe Us' T-shirts, it became clear that the W's veterans were the ones taking the lead in CBA negotiations. Players like WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, New York Liberty leader Breanna Stewart, Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm standout Gabby Williams were the most vocal about the progress the female athletes are attempting to make over the weekend, leading some to seemingly question where other players stood. Luckily, Clark, Reese, and Bueckers cleared the air.
'It was super important that they all decided, 'Yes, we'll do this,'' ESPN's report stated. 'Caitlin did it, Angel did it. They were both at the [Thursday] meeting. Paige did it. They are bought in, they're serious about this, and they're unified.'
The revelation comes shortly after former NBA legend and current Sky partial owner Dwyane Wade got real about the league's new generation of WNBA stars on his podcast, 'Time Out with Dwyane Wade,' and although he didn't name names, he did explain how he's displeased with the way they're approaching the CBA negotiations.
'Candace Parker was one of the greatest to ever play,' Wade said. 'She never got to experience the things that they're experiencing right now. She just left the game. So when you're a younger player coming in, and you're disrespecting the game, you know in a sense that it looks like you're disrespecting the game or you're complaining about money.
'Or you're sitting out, you're not doing these things,' Wade continued. 'Yeah, the older players are going to feel a way because they have used this moment to like put on that platform for the next generation when they're in there arguing with the CBA, they're in there arguing about the future.'
The 40 WNBA players in attendance at the CBA meeting were fighting for a fair share of the revenue increase that's come from the W's growth in popularity over the last few years, including the league's recently signed 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and NBCUniversal that's valued at about $2.2 billion.
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