SPRINGFIELD, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Basketball Hall Of Fame inductee Sheryl Swoopes (r) and her mother ... [+]
I told you so.
On the last day of the last decade, I told you that in this new decade, women were coming for everything we’re owed. A mere two weeks into it, the women of the WNBA have proved me right. After months of demanding and negotiating, years of speaking out and up, the Players’ Association and the League have reached an agreement of epic proportions for women in basketball, women in sports and women in society as a whole. Epic is not an exaggeration. Yesterday, on separate platforms, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike announced some of the terms of the agreement, which has yet to be finalized. Those terms include:
Summary of proposed WNBA CBA terms.
The noticeable increases in compensation, benefits and accommodations place the current and future players in a significantly better position than players have ever been before. In fact, some of the terms, like the required nursing stations and reimbursement for veterans’ alternative parenting options (i.e. surrogacy, adoption, egg freezing, etc.), place the women of the WNBA in a better position than any women’s league and the vast majority of working women in the world. Like I said, it’s epic.
I could continue to drive home just how meaningful it is for the players to have negotiated these terms for themselves and the broader meaning for society. But I don’t think I would quite do it justice. I haven’t been there since the beginning. I haven’t been in the trenches with these women. But there are plenty of women who have been. Women like the first woman to be signed in the WNBA—three-time WNBA MVP, four-time WNBA Champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes.
“It is absolutely a great day for women—not just women in the WNBA or in sports, but for women in general. This shows women everywhere the importance of the collective. The only way that we are going to get what we deserve is if we talk about it, believe it, and fight for it together. If we don’t force it to happen, people are going to continue to treat us in an unacceptable manner. People will only treat you how you allow them to treat you.”
The collective indeed spoke. With 90% of the players voting in favor of these terms, they made their voices heard loud and clear.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 05: The Los Angeles Sparks cheer before their game against the ... [+]
“The participation is huge,” Swoopes continued. “When we were negotiating our CBA, we battled to get on the same page. Many players felt like they didn’t have a voice or that it didn’t matter what they said; that only the voices of the the top players mattered. We could never get enough people on the same page or invested enough in what was important. They didn’t understand that it wasn’t just about us but about this very moment. To see so many women ‘get it’ is beautiful.”
The players really got it. They got max salaries increased by more than 80% and simultaneously got the League to agree to help them secure off-season employment at the market rate—effectively ensuring that no other player would have to endure the Kristi Toliver treatment.
“It’s long overdue. The salaries, better living arrangements ... all of it is overdue. I get emotional looking at the terms. We’ve come a long way in even knowing what to fight for. When you don’t know something, then you don’t know what to strive for or to work for. When the WNBA first started in 1997, we dealt with and made the most of what we had because we didn’t know any better. Shoutout to everyone who played with me—the ones who came before the young women who play today—because if we didn’t go through the struggle that we endured, these young ladies wouldn’t know what to fight for.”
The beautiful thing about what these women fought for was that it extended well beyond their salaries. It extended to the way they are marketed, their travel accommodations, and even their families. Many people didn’t realize that up until this revised CBA, the WNBA players were required to share hotel rooms while on travel, forcing them to deal with issues like a lack of privacy, and competing sleeping patterns and habits.
“To some people, the hotel rooms might not seem like a big deal but grown, professional women were required to have roommates. When I played it was the same thing. If we wanted our own room, we had to pay the difference between a single and double room. We didn’t know any better so the ones who could afford it, paid it.”
While the hotel rooms are a big win for the players; many, like Swoopes, will likely consider provisions for maternity leave, child care and proper living arrangements for players with children to be the most significant of changes.
SYDNEY - SEPTEMBER 20: Sheryl Swoopes of the USA looks to pass the ball during the women's ... [+]
“As a mom and one of the first to have a child while playing, the maternal benefits are a HUGE deal,” shares Swoopes. “Many (male athletes especially) don’t really understand the magnitude of what’s been accomplished. Men don’t have to be concerned with having a child and taking a paycut. The childcare I had was my husband at the time, my mom or nanny (which was an expense I had to cover on my own). I don’t know if I would have been as successful if my mom had not been able to travel with me to take some of the stress off of me. Her presence and help allowed me to focus on getting back in shape and being the best athlete I could possibly be. These new terms will allow so many more women to be successful parents and players. For new moms who are contemplating playing verses getting pregnant and starting a family, they now don’t have to sacrifice one or the other.”
Freeing up women to be successful mothers and players; securing more money so that players do not have to play year-round basketball; and more strategic marketing will likely create a better product for fans to digest. These terms allow women to maximize their playing potential and carry less mental burdens.
The shift that the new CBA potentially brings in the way women negotiate and demand working conditions has yet to be seen but what these women have accomplished unquestionably powerful. The players of the WNBA have stood up not only for themselves but for women who might not even know their names.
“We have come a long way, but we have much further to go. I hope the League begins marketing itself and the players in a more robust manner and that it works to create opportunities for current players and veterans alike. Those are the tactics that the WNBA needs to employ to ensure that this growth continues.”
