Caitlin Clark’s Classy Gesture to WNBA Players Resurfaces Ahead of CBA Meeting

The Fever star is set to take part in her first CBA meeting between the players' union and the league in Indianapolis on Thursday.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark watches from the bench as her team takes on the Minnesota Lynx in the second half during the Commissioner's Cup final at Target Center.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark watches from the bench as her team takes on the Minnesota Lynx in the second half during the Commissioner's Cup final at Target Center. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
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News broke Tuesday that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will be attending Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) meetings between the WNBA players' union and the league in Indianapolis on Thursday amid the union's ongoing negotiation efforts.

Clark said in a pregame press conference before the Fever's matchup against the Connecticut Sun that she was still trying to "understand and engage as much as possible" and noted that this was a "very important time" for the WNBA.

Clark isn't a part of the union's negotiating committee but could soon become the face of the league (if she isn't already), and it makes a lot of sense as to why she would get involved in CBA negotiations with the WNBA.

Ahead of her first CBA meeting this week, Clark's classy gesture to the W's players has resurfaced on social media. Former Fever president Allison Barber shared an anecdote in September 2024 of Clark—who was just a rookie at the time—trying to spread the Fever franchise's increased wealth among her peers:

"After a few away games and all of the sell-outs, Caitlin asked the WNBA if they would pay spot bonuses to the away team players. She said, 'We're making all this new revenue, and I would like the away team to benefit from that.' ... So that's the heart of Caitlin Clark."

Too classy.

The current CBA is set to expire at the end of this season after the union opted out of the agreement last October. Some of the pressing topics expected to be discussed in the upcoming CBA meetings include higher salaries, better benefits and revenue sharing, with the WNBA generating much more revenue in the last few years largely thanks to Clark's popularity boom.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.