Liberty Reps Hopeful as CBA Talks Loom
All-Star Weekend is a working weekend for members of the New York Liberty.
The on-floor events set to be staged in Indianapolis on Friday and Saturday are rife with seafoam representation but business will be mixed with All-Star pleasure this time around: numerous players will meet with league officials to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement upon the descent into Indy on Thursday.
Following Wednesday's 98-77 victory over the Indiana Fever, Liberty guard Natasha Cloud projected that "at least four" New Yorkers will be present at the fateful meeting, the first such discussions since initial talks were staged in December. Cloud referred to the yields from that discussion as a "slap in the face," only raising the tension that she and her fellow reps refuse to back away from.
"We know what we're worth. We know our value, and this is us going and fighting for it, not only for ourselves and our own families, but for the next generation of women to come," Cloud said. "This is such a like huge moment, a pivotal moment in the W's history for the trajectory of where we go moving forward."
The contingent also, if not obviously, includes Breanna Stewart, a vice president on the players association board led by Seattle Storm All-Star Nneka Ogwumike. Isabelle Harrison and Sabrina Ionescu are also listed as Liberty reps on the WNBPA council.
"From the players' perspective, it's hard to be able to navigate this during the middle of the season, but also we know how important it is and really getting it done before the end of October and we're making that effort to be able to do both," Stewart said, per the Associated Press, labeling the Indianapolis-based talks "spicy." "The fact that it's been a little bit slow to start is tough, but hopeful things will ramp up now after getting their proposal back."
"I think a lot of players are just not settling like we did in the past, and we're very much standing on business when we go into this meeting," Harrison added. "I think we just we know our worth, and I'm pretty sure a lot of players are probably insulted with the response after waiting five months from the league, and I think they know better than that ... I think this CBA, we had such a collective effort from all of our players and opinions about what we want moving forward. This is the most I've been involved in the CBA, and there's been constant, constant communication. So shoutout to the union side for getting players involved. I think this meeting is going to be very beneficial, because we know what we want going ahead, going into the meeting, so it's going to be good."
As Cloud implied, such discussions come at a pivotal time on the WNBA timeline: headlined by numerous major happenings on the floor (i.e. the Liberty's 2024 title run, Caitlin Clark's entry, A'ja Wilson's dominance), the WNBA has enjoyed a surge in popularity, one that has put about 10 figures on the negotiating table.
A $2.2 billion media deal, which will see the networks of Amazon and NBCUniversal added to the fold next to the incumbent batch of Walt Disney Company offerings, is set to kick in next season and hefty expansion fees from incoming franchises also raise the stakes: the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo begin play next season while further entries in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia will raise membership to 18 by 2030.
"This is all about business," Cloud said. "We're not backing down. We're not scared. Again, we know our value, we know our worth. We know what money is about to be paid, with how the trajectory of women's sports in general, but also just women's basketball in general, has been going. So, the revenue share part is really big for us."
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.