Mercury Star Shreds WNBA for 'Terrible' Scheduling After Loss
Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally has never been afraid to speak her mind, especially regarding her frustration with the league she plays for.
This became extremely apparent when Sabally's comments about the ongoing CBA negotiations between the WNBA and its players went viral earlier this summer. When speaking about the WNBA announcing three expansion franchises (which will be joining the league over the next five seasons) in July, Sabally said, “I think we can focus on our players, and the union. We got a [CBA] proposal from the league, which was honestly a slap in the face.
"We really have to put our emphasis on the players that are in the league right now… I love to see the league growing…but how cool would it also be to have like a little bit [of] expansion on the rosters?” she added.
Sabally got a lot of love for these comments, if only because she was willing to express her opinion as bluntly as possible without fear of a potential fine or any other pushback she might have received from the league office.
Satou Sabally Calls Out 'Terrible' WNBA Scheduling
One of the most pertinent issues in the WNBA right now has to do with scheduling. The league increased its regular season games from 40 in 2024 to 44 this season without lengthening the actual schedule at all. Therefore, players have to endure less off days and overall recovery, which many believe is contributing to the alarming rate of injuries the WNBA has experienced this season.
It also means that every team has several back-to-back games throughout the year. Sabally's Mercury squad is in the midst of one, as they lost to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday and now must face the Golden State Valkyries on Friday.
Sabally got brutally honest about her opinion regarding this when speaking with the media after Thursday's game, when she was asked how she could describe the league's scheduling.
"Terrible," Sabally said, per an X post from Hayden Cilley of ClutchPoints. "It’s like they don’t care about player safety, it's like they don't care about scheduling, or whatever... At some point, there's a sports science to it. Yeah, it's honestly just like game, on game, on game, on game.
"So we play tomorrow. And we’re professional, and we’ll do it," she concluded.
The Mercury are on a back to back between playing Vegas and Golden State on Friday.
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) August 22, 2025
I asked Satou Sabally how she would describe the league’s scheduling.
“Terrible. It’s like they don’t care about player safety… We’ll play tomorrow. We’re professional. We’ll do it.” pic.twitter.com/mF59Aq9dXO
Players will surely be fighting for changes to the schedule in the next CBA, which will be coming for the 2026 season.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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