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WNBA Players Set Up Face-to-Face Meeting After League Ignores Latest CBA Proposal

The season is approaching...
Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas met in the second round of the WNBA playoffs last year. It’s unclear when they’ll play again in the W.
Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas met in the second round of the WNBA playoffs last year. It’s unclear when they’ll play again in the W. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The WNBA appears to be headed towards a work stoppage. The league and players are currently supposed to be negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the season fast approaching, but the last few weeks have seen nothing but inactivity on both sides.

The WNBA players association submitted their latest proposal weeks ago and it was met with silence. According to ESPN, “The league believes the proposal didn’t warrant a response, since it wasn’t that different from the past ones the union has submitted—and instead, sources told ESPN, it’s waiting for the players to submit what it would consider a more ‘realistic’ proposal.”

Tired of waiting, the the players association has set up a face-to-face meeting for Monday. According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, “PA staff, PA leadership and league CBA leadership, including the labor relations committee and owners” will be among those in attendance. Kelsey Plum, Napheesa Collier and Nneka Ogwumike are all expected to be there.

Collier recently said that if the WNBA doesn't have people in place who can run a sustainable business, “they need to put people in place who can.”

The WNBA season is currently scheduled to begin on May 8. Last year it the draft was held in mid-April and training camp began in late April. If they don't have a productive meeting on Monday, it is not a great sign for the season being able to begin as scheduled.


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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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