With the WNBA and its players’ union at a tense CBA impasse, all eyes were on star guard Kelsey Plum. But when asked about Sue Bird’s role in the heated negotiations, Plum had a swift and decisive message for the media that had nothing to do with the CBA.
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The possibility of the CBA deal happening now seems to be heading into dire straits, as the WNBPA has already dismissed the WNBA’s latest proposal as “not worth taking.” So what do the players think about this development? The media recently caught up with Kelsey Plum to ask her about the current status with Sue Bird and her involvement with the ongoing CBA negotiations.
“It’s a great question. I am here focused on USA basketball, so if you want to ask me, specifically, ask me about the team or upcoming competition. I look really forward to answering any questions you have about USA basketball,” said Plum as she addressed the media during Women’s World Cup Qualifying Training Camp in Miami
It felt as if Plum was put on the spot by the reporter, and she chose to avoid answering the question altogether, knowing all the controversy that was going on surrounding it. For the unversed, Sue Bird is also in Miami in the capacity of an Executive Director, and her proximity to Sue made the media curious to find out if Kelsey found out anything new on the subject.
It’s natural for curiosity to pique at this point because the league already has about a week’s time to get things settled to avoid delay, and we are already in the 11th hour, and the deadline is just a couple of days away (10th March). But that’s not all, there’s so much more.
A WNBA draft needs to happen, then there’s free agency to deal with, with a probable new salary cap, which leaves us to the most important expansion draft with regards to the new teams, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, before the start of its 30th season. Time is not on their side.
And Sue Bird knows how difficult it is to get things in motion if the deal reaches stagnation. Sue might be retired, but her influence and monitoring over the whole deal have been significant. She now represents the Seattle Storm ownership group. Sue Bird has been actively contributing to discussions, advocating for player interests while balancing franchise sustainability.
Bird has pretty much been the face in some of these meetings when Napheesa Collier and Kelsey Plum couldn’t attend the discussions. We are at a stage where time is slipping like sand through the fingers, and everyone is preparing for the worst-case scenario: a canceled season. But now there are also allegations being thrown at the WNBA.
WNBA Union Director Blames League For Creating Player Divisions
Nothing seems to be working out at the moment, league and the union, it seems, as the WNBA just doesn’t want to budge on its stance on revenue sharing. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson bluntly blamed the league’s nonchalance for creating the current stalemate.
“I think you’re hearing that there is a discomfort with what’s been playing out. I don’t know that there’s a discomfort with what we’re doing. The league is putting pressure on the players; the league is dragging this out. The one thing I said to them is they have one tool and their tool is to outwait you,” said Jackson in an interview with Front Office Sports on the ploy she feels the WNBA is adopting.
On one side, the WNBA has set a deadline for March 10th to avoid delaying the season from happening, and on the other, they are still not committing to the demands made. The days have turned into weeks, and it has created an underlying tension within the union.
The WNBPA has already sent a three-page letter to first vice president Kelsey Plum and vice president Breanna Stewart to ascertain how the negotiations have gone down, and it came to light that a communication breakdown happened between the union leadership and players.
As per reports, the union is also believed to have surveyed players about the league’s latest proposal, and 84% are in favor of continuing negotiations to achieve the maximum attainable in revenue sharing.
While the possibility of a strike is still strong, the union has time and again hinted that it is not what they are looking for at this point. The real question is how much longer we should wait?