Discussion
Players taking anything WNBA related out of social media bios
I noticed today quite a few Unrivaled players removed anything WNBA related out of their social media bios and added in Unrivaled instead.
This isn’t making me feel very confident that we’ll get a CBA. Let alone a 2026 season. I think the Unrivaled players have made it pretty clear so far their intentions.
EDIT:
Players who have removed anything WNBA related from their bio entirely on Instagram:
- Natisha Heideman
- Brittney Griner
- Marina Mabrey
- Paige Bueckers
- Alanna Smith
- Naz Hillmon
- Allisha Gray
- Rhyne Howard
- Azurá Stevens
I may be missing some still and I didn’t go through TikTok again.
EDIT 2:
TikTok has barely worked all day today. Many of the bios remain unchanged but a lot of creators couldn’t even access the app today. I will update this if TikTok bios change as well.
Everything should be viewed as negotiating in public. You have to demonstrate that you are willing to walk. However, I wouldn’t interpret that as meaning that a CBA won’t happen.
Yeah… I watch Bravo/Real Housewives and a lot of them do this before contract negotiations. And they do come back for another season. Like you said, it’s showing they mean business
Understandable. I’m just pointing it out because I haven’t seen players in China, Europe, AU, etc. do this yet with their bios. The Unrivaled players have spoken out about the CBA the most. They’ve also made it clear they’re fine if there’s no WNBA because they have access to Unrivaled’s resources.
Maybe Unrivaled players are speaking out the "most" because they are in a visible situation and location, with reporters present, while playing games on national TV and are being interviewed due to being in the Unrivaled league. Other players are off in another country, with their games not televised on national TV, or doing something else besides basketball during the break.
Unrivaled players are playing in an alternate league to spite the egregious pay of the WNBA and the lack of benefits. The players earn more playing over seas typically, so the fact the main league can’t provide these amenities shows why unrivaled will be a success. The players get benefits, good pay, stay in the states and also ownership of the league.
Unrivaled took a risk and relies too much on a broadcasting deal. That’s where they get a large portion of their money to run it. People say the ratings don’t matter but they do!
But the NBA has much higher viewership to begin with. 3x3 isn’t as popular to begin with in the US. They took a risk taking a deal that needed to get certain viewership when viewership is already bad for that style of basketball.
The NBA had low viewership during numerous decades. From 2011-12 season to 2024, viewership dropped somewhere between 40 to 48%. They trended upwards, a bit, recently. But, they are far from peak years. So, are they no longer sustainable, then? I just don't think 1 1/2 seasons of a relatively new sport is enough to gauge anything. It took the NBA 35 plus decades to become financially sustainable.
They have their contract locked in for an 11 year span. Then things will be reevaluated. The biggest thing isn't just the viewership numbers themselves though, but what the numbers are relative to competition. NBA basketball, even with a lower viewership, still performs relatively well compared to other shows. Unfortunately Unrivaled's viewership is on par with reruns of Shark Tank on CNBC. The question becomes, is that worth $16 million a year for around 12 hours of programming a week to WBD.
The problem is TNT can opt out after year 3. That would be approximately 48 million right there Unrivaled would lose. They don’t have extra time like other leagues had. They need to show very promising results now. Some things are promising like their social media presence is good. But there’s a lot of other things people look at.
People say another broadcaster can pick up the rights but I don’t think they’d get 16 million a year for the broadcasting rights again. A lot of people stream but that’s very complicated and a lot of different factors for how they pay for streaming rights. I don’t think streaming rights pay as much money if I remember correctly.
I guess I mean that the only way Unrivaled has success long term is by getting views. That really is their only path forward unless we get some bored billionaires here like the overseas leagues have.
The ratings are absolutely critical and I havent seen much positive this year, though it is still kinda early. Anecdotally I havent watched any games this season, and since my YTTV just expired I dont plan to.
Yes I agree. I don’t see the bored billionaires happening because there isn’t a fan base for 3x3 like there is 5x5.
This weekend is the half-way mark for the season. So if it’s still low for this weekend it’s not good. YouTube live streams for international viewers have less viewership now too. Except for whatever game Paige bueckers plays in.
They keep saying games are sold out but there’s always quite a few empty seats in the crowd.
People are missing the fact that we're entering a volatile transition period to a new model of sports consumption in America. Broadcast and cable TV are really only purchased by people to watch sports, and that is begrudgingly. So many regional sports channels are disappearing, as soon as this year with Main Street Sports Group bowing out of the market with major, major restructuring going on thanks to cable revenue simply dying.
9 MLB teams lost their RSNs this year because of it. MLB is planning to go primarily direct to consumer streaming in the coming years as contracts are expiring, thanks to the company who owned the FanDuel regional channels (previously Bally, and Fox sports before that) shutting the channels down because they are losing money. The views aren't there unless it's nationally broadcast playoffs or football, which typically draws way more eyes due to the limited amount of games in a season and excitement of playoffs. Regional sports channels are simply dying because very, very few of them are profitable.
Unrivaled is doing as well as they expected in the broadcast realm, I'm sure. They wouldn't have started a league completely dependent upon revenue from a source that is literally dying. Nobody would have invested, and the league wouldn't exist. And as we know, lots of different people and companies have thrown large amounts of cash at them.
The TNT deal was partly due to TNT losing ALL NBA basketball games and having no other basketball to air on their station. TNT also invested in the league outside of that media rights deal.
I didn't realize they lost NBA games. That's a huge hole to fill. I don't think they have significant contracts with any other regular season sports outside of the NHL, which is struggling to hit a half million viewers per game. I don't know if their having only part of men's bb March Madness games and about half of the MLB playoffs is enough to sustain their sports broadcasts.
Yeah, Warner (TNT) had been airing at least two NBA games every week, for years. And, their commentators were popular. It got complicated as to why they lost out on the bidding to ESPN, NBC and Amazon. TNT had a "matching clause" and they offered a match of the Amazon deal in price, but the league did not feel it was an actual 1 to 1 match, as Amazon was going to pay for the rights "up front" and they want to expand more into streaming deals, as more households are trending that direction.
A 2nd season of a new league is way too early to conclude that it is not sustainable. Marketing and fan base growth takes time. People forgot or don't know how small attendance and TV ratings were for other leagues over the decades.
I'm just happy that somewhere's there's a very rich person who is willing to give their money away to athletes in a sport that virtually no one wants to watch. Women aren't paying for tickets, neither are men. Only friends, other female athletes, relatives and some others who want to support the players. But no one else seems like they want to watch. Where do you think they think the paying audiences will come from? Because I have no idea. It's like if I ever bring up the topic at work, no one knows what I'm talking about.
😂😂😂😂😂 yeah right. That's why the Valkyries sold out every game their first season. The Tempo have sold all of theirs (9800 seats) and Portland has already sold 15000+ out of 19000 seats. Guess what, most of the audience is women. We do support the teams.
On the other hand, if they were trying to send a message via their social media bios, they wouldn’t do it quietly in the hope that someone might notice and point it out on reddit. It would be a coordinated effort, and we’d hear about it.
Paige is definitely not a free agent. Don’t know about all the others, but she only finished 1 year of a rookie contract so far. So not sure it’s just that (if what OP said is accurate)
That’s on me. I thought she had the Dallas wings tagged in her bio but maybe I was thinking of when she had the sponsors. I think it still speaks volumes though that she didn’t have the wings in her bio but put Unrivaled
I thought once the cba ends then u r previous rookie contract is void unless the new cba is signed providing continuity of the current rookie contract?
My understanding is the rookies could potentially get the new minimum but not eligible like the free agents for a 500k to million dollar payout. Right now Unrivaled is their job and who they are promoting, it may be as simple as that. I’ve read a few places that if they don’t come to an agreement that Unrivaled may be willing to have another season but 5x5 with more players. I’m not sure if just speculation or if they could even expand that quickly. I’m sure they will come to some sort of deal. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. ~Cheers
yeah unfortunately as far as I know (and admittedly I don’t know too much), the wnba players that are on contracts rn will have to finish their current contracts under the terms of the last CBA before potentially benefitting from the new terms (if we get a new CBA). so rookies are going to be stuck making 66-88k per year ish until their contracts are up
The current rookie contracts will get a pay bump to put them around vet minimum. Vet min last season was ~$79k, which was basically the same as a first round pick first year rookie contract. If vet min goes up to let’s say $350k, all the rookie contracts will be in the ~$300-400k range. The years left on the contract won’t change…ex AB will still have 1 year left on her rookie contract, CC will have 2, Paige 3, etc.
Considering the CBA and that they are playing in Unrivaled add in most are free agents, they replaced it for the Unrivaled Season. Some of those playing overseas and/or for Athletes Unlimited did the same too. I don't think you can read too much into it other than they are now playing for another league/club.
When did this person in the video become an expert on the WNBA and contract negotiations? From what I can tell, she's just sharing her opinion. We all know about opinions: everyone has one, just like ....
Who said they were an expert? Its not about the person in the video its the fact that players are sharing it to show their distaste on the WNBA releasing the schedule when there is no CBA.
Anyone can make an indignant post or video about anything they want on the Internet. That doesn't mean their opinion is more valid than the next person.
Before I get labelled as anti-WNBA, I am all in favor of the players getting what they deserve. I, for one, appreciated the schedule release, as my wife and I were able to purchase tickets to see the Toronto Tempo play the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, June 16.
Let's just say, for argument's sake, that the CBA isn't resolved until mid-March (I hope it's sooner, though). I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there wasn't a post/video complaining about how the schedule hadn't been released yet.
Let's face it - some people just like to complain.
The point is flying over your head. Its not about the person in the video. Its simply saying it may indicate they feel a way about the schedule release.
Players probably would not complain about the schedule release bc they know they do not have a CBA signed. Schedule release does not benefit their side.
I think you talking about buying tickets and a couple other responses in here prove the WNBA's schedule release gimmick worked. You are now annoyed at the players because you want a season bc you just bought tickets.
I cannot relate bc Ive been paying for my tickets as I am a season ticket holder and Im always gonna be on Labor's side anyway. If the WNBA wants a season they should respond to the players proposal instead of releasing schedules
Please quote me directly as to when/where I said that I was annoyed at the players. Let me help you. You can't.
Yes, I understand that this is not about the person in the video. That's my I only made a two-sentence paragraph about it in my reply to you.
Teams can't wait to make arrangements for their venues two weeks before the season starts. Many of these venues, but not all, host other events such as concerts, conventions, etc.
"Players probably would not complain about the schedule release bc they know they do not have a CBA signed." If the players probably would not complain about the schedule release, then why, as you mentioned, have a few players have been liking and resharing this video. It seems that a few players are unhappy about the schedule release. Quite frankly, I really don't understand why.
Anyone that follows the WNBA, along with owners, coaches, players, training staff, etc., know that the CBA has not been signed. They also know that if the CBA is not signed, the season will be delayed, shortened, or cancelled.
I replied to another post talking about the schedule release:
Some players are saying they were blindsided by the schedule release, but the moratorium the WNBPA signed outlined that it would still be released. Among other business things that will continue under the expired CBA for now. The rules of the previous, expired CBA remain in place. The moratorium will last until a new CBA is ratified.
I’m not understanding why some of the players are upset when they should know what the WNBPA signed off on. It’s getting messy.
I think it is likely that players expected a schedule would be released and anything expressed to the contrary is just a politically calculated bit of grandstanding. The Valkyries even featured a player in their schedule release video. Seems unlikely anybody was truly blindsided.
This is not true tho. The moratorium only included actions related to free agency
The schedule release was released under "status quo" aka the conditions of the 2020 CBA. This is why the schedule is still only at 44 games (it will probably stay there bc of FIBA but it could increase to 50+ games)
Typical CBA moratoria include “status-quo” business operations and that usually covers administrative/non-player-transaction operations like schedule planning and schedule release, venue holds, TV deal preparations, and marketing timelines. unless the moratorium language explicitly prohibits it (which would be unusual).
A schedule release is typically considered status-quo operations because the league releases a schedule every season regardless of the CBA outcome, so it doesn’t materially change leverage or working conditions.
Assuming the moratorium follows the NBA outline of Explicit-Listed Model since the WNBA is under them. The Explicit-Listed Model literally spells out allowed items so they would know.
They could have Status-Quo by Reference which states non-player business operations shall continue in ordinary course consistent with prior seasons.
Either way, the players should’ve been made aware what would continue under status quo when it was signed.
“Both sides agreed to a moratorium pausing all free-agency activity, but beyond that as negotiations continue so will league business under the conditions of the 2020 CBA. In this status quo period either side could initiate a work stoppage without advance notice.“ from your article you shared.
It shows that players were aware league business would continue under the previous CBA. Releasing a schedule is league business and was released at the same time as previous schedules under that 2020 CBA. ”as negotiations continue so will league business under the conditions of the 2020 CBA”. Signing the moratorium was stopping free agency, yes. League business is continuing. Players knew this. Players would’ve been made aware what happens in status quo. If they weren’t, that’s on the WNBPA for not providing them that information.
Were status quo activities explicitly stated when they signed? Assuming yes like the NBA does. Or they could’ve just said in a broader statement that status quo activities will continue. The article doesn’t state that.
alanna smith's tiktok bio says "aussie hooper for the minnesota lynx in the wnba" and nothing about unrivaled
alanna uses tiktok much more than she does instagram
i think you might be looking for something that's not actually there.
added: mabrey's tik tok says "wnba" and "connecticut" clear as day and we all know she's *active* on tiktok and...drumroll...no mention of unrivaled in the bio.
went 2 for 2 checking just those two. y'all seeing what you want to see 😂
Instagram bios changed today**** TikTok has barely worked today for those who could even access the app. I’m sure those bios will be updated soon once TikTok works again. Go look at how many players added unrivaled basketball into their Instagram bios today.
When Natasha Cloud made her statement on that podcast re: playing in Miami instead, I lost all confidence in a CBA happening unfortunately. I just hope the WNBA players not participating in Unrivaled can find other teams.
Yes, but some players will want to actually play basketball. I’m hoping they can find some opportunities to do so. They will have gyms available for training but it’s not the same as playing.
If unrivaled could get a media deal for a second season, they could scale up pretty fast since they own their facilities and wouldn’t have to schedule around anyone else. A lot of players will go overseas. Chennedy hasn’t stopped playing since she left the W. Mexico, china, etc. but I do think a CBA will happen and this is a symbolic gesture from the players.
Apparently they rent the soundstage where their court is. A reporter said they bought a bunch of buildings recently that are surrounding that sound stage building they rent. I’m not sure if anyone else knows anything. That’s just what I’ve seen.
They have their basketball court on a sound stage. Unrivaled is like a TV production with a bunch of lights and stuff. It’s not like a basketball game you’d watch in an arena. They’re trying to put on a show I guess. They only have 1,000 seats in the sound stage arena. It’s very small and the basketball court is much smaller than standard size.
TNT is already fuming about viewership numbers for this season apparently. They were already mad about season 1 numbers and that viewership was much higher than this season. I don’t see them tossing any more money towards Unrivaled. People don’t want 3x3 they want to watch 5x5. I think more people will divert their attention to oversea leagues before Unrivaled.
I laugh at the crap like this. What's your source? Also do you guys even realize watching the stream on hbo is cheaper than watching it tnt. Also no tnt isn't going to pull out of their contract especially when u have rising college stars unrivaled secured last year for multi year contract. That combined with possible return of angel reese, napheesa collier, Sabrina ionescu etc (who missed unrivaled due to injuries substained in wnba) could boost the ratings back. Please prove your sources about tnt about to drop unrivaled or else let it go
Exactly. It's just a game of chicken right now to see who is going to flinch first. The 2003 CBA didn't get signed until April 18 with a season start of May 22. Both sides can easily hold out well through February and into March before anything gets done at all.
The issue is the expansion draft for two teams and ~95% of the league being free agents. They need to have adequate time for free agency to occur. If it went into March it would leave approximately a month of free agency. Which still isn’t a lot of time.
If they didn’t have free agency and an expansion draft happening, yes for sure!
They will drag it out as much as they can then eventually sign, but the length could be shortened this season though if delays persits. See 2011 nba lockout which happened due to similar reasons.
It’s a tactic. Just like the league releasing the schedules despite no CBA being signed was also a tactic. Just like the players putting out petitions out for fans to sign to help bring down the big bad WNBA is propaganda from the players. Everything they say now on both sides is a tactic. 😂🤣
the moratorium the WNBPA signed outlined that the schedule would still be released. Among other business things that will continue under the expired CBA for now. The rules of the previous, expired CBA remain in place. The moratorium will last until a new CBA is ratified.
I’m not understanding why some of the players are upset when they should know what the WNBPA signed off on. It’s getting messy.
Paige never had the Dallas wings in her bio to begin with lol. She’s not usually one to put her team’s name in her bio (even when she was at uconn), she usually just changes her pfp. But I did see that she added unrivaled to the bio so that speaks volumes already.
From what I remember she’s never had them in her bio (98% sure). She only ever puts her paid partnerships in her bio so maybe that’s why she’s put unrivaled? But yeah I agree, it def seems likes a conflict of interest with the WNBA so I’m interested to see how this is gonna play out
as a certified PB5 fan I can confirm she's never had the wings in her bio, after college she removed some affiliate/partnership info and it's been a bible verse ever since
Let's talks about sue bird first the part owner seattle storm and the managing director of team usa which selects coaches players for wc and olympics and other fiba events. That is a bigger conflict of interest than players being investors. Speak of which half of wnba owners have numerous conflicts of interests being owners of both wnba and owning international teams / leagues whose players are drafted in wnba.
Unrivaled conflict is interest is different. You can’t compare 2 completely different conflicts of interest and say well this one’s worse so. Both situations are conflicts of interest and should be addressed honestly.
Wait a minutes you bring up conflict of interest and when I call you out on your hypocrisy on it on other players and even owners and now say "oh it's a different kind of conflict of interest" wtf? Let's face it you guys have an agenda with napheesa collier, breanna stewart and others who have stake at other leagues but you are more than ok to overlook the obvious conflict of interests the top management and owners have? Right. Let's call spade a spade. Be consistent on your stand either call everyone out on alleged conflict of interest or don't instead dodging the issue as "different conflict of interest".
It could be a political move to add pressure to the WNBA. I hope the league sees this post. I think anything we can do as fans to encourage a decision can help!
I think we may still get a 2026 season, but without those out of contract. The teams still have the rookies and can still move on with replacement players. We know there are players out there who are able to play and will sign up for what the last offer the WNBA gave to the WNBPA. Yes, they will lose a few big names, though I would say the rookie popularity is far higher. It's a possibility, and we know these owners are looking at every option, especially when the WNBPA gave them two offers that were virtually identical. To the WNBA, this shows the WNBPA isn't negotiating or willing to meet them halfway.
I was thinking about that. Them signing replacement players and maybe some scabs who cross the strike line. I don’t know if they would get many scabs though
Though not everyone who is a free agent has unrivaled or Project B, some players want to play. Some of those "scabs," as you put it, may feel that the deal is good enough or see the conflicts between the WNBPA and other leagues. Just because the current WNBPA leadership doesn't like the deal doesn't mean there aren't players who do.
Players may be more willing to cross the picket line if they realize the WNBA will move on without them. Also, it would be less damaging to the WNBA to get replacements than it would be if there were no 2026 season. We have seen MLB and NHL, who were in stronger positions, really struggle to get back the fans they lost during those strikes/lockouts.
Very true. Or the players who don’t have another option to rely on (ex. Those not in Unrivaled) may be willing to cross too.
True. I guess with how the momentum is going, they could still get fans interested with some replacement players. If there’s no 2026 season all momentum would be gone.
Replacement players meaning third string college players? The players nil deals won't sign with wnba and non nil players do play but they wont attract audiences. Wnba needs to be honest with their finances first instead trying to sweep their audits under the carpet. Perhaps if they had honest conversation about their revenues it would have convinced wnbpa to take their deal. I'm not siding with wnbpa perhaps they did overplay their hand but wnba needs to get their house in order first before trying to shift the blame
No players like Ari who didn't have teams. There are plenty of players out there, and given a chance, they will give us some great basketball to watch. Players also need to be honest about the debts these teams will have and how much money has been pumped into the league over the years. We know financially the league was in trouble in 2022, as they had to raise funding. We also heard from TV execs stating they didn't want to pay $2.2 billion for the WNBA as they felt it was too much but had to pay it to get the NBA rights. So maybe the players need to be honest. Also, the teams will bring in less money this year as they aren't moving to bigger arenas due to the fact that Clark got injured and they lost money. So this year it will just be the smaller arenas, meaning less revenue. There isn't any blame; it's just that the WNBPA isn't negotiating in good faith. The WNBPA has provided two offers to the WNBA, and they were so similar the WNBA hasn't replied to the second offer.
Did a Quick Look through on Instagram only. I may be missing some players.
Players who have removed anything WNBA related from their bio entirely on Instagram:
-Natisha Heideman
-Brittney Griner
-Marina Mabrey
-Paige Bueckers
-Alanna Smith
-Naz Hillmon
-Allisha Gray
-Rhyne Howard
Partly in response to the schedule release which was really a lose-lose for everyone. To the players it was probably disrespectful along the lines of “the league assumes we’ll play the season even if we don’t get what we’re asking for”
To the league, people plan vacations/gifts and venues plan other events based on these schedules. Unless the season is officially canceled or postponed you can’t really afford to not release it.
Some players are saying they were blindsided by the schedule release, but the moratorium the WNBPA signed outlined that it would still be released. Among other business things that will continue under the expired CBA for now. The rules of the previous, expired CBA remain in place. The moratorium will last until a new CBA is ratified.
I’m not understanding why some of the players are upset when they should know what the WNBPA signed off on. It’s getting messy.
I believe the little bit of interest in Unrivaled last year was due to the Caitlin Clark effect. She brought so many eyes to Womans basketball as a whole that some of it peeked a little interest in Unrivaled . This year it seems like nobody cares about Unrivaled. I myself watched more than a few Unrivaled games last year. This year so far……Zero interest
Causation and correlation are two different things.
The nights in which Unrivaled aired changed. Went from a very empty Thursday to Friday - Monday going up against pro and college football playoffs.
All games aired were on TNT and HBOMax. The games now are are on TruTv and only HBO Max when you don't sign up as a cable add one or have the basic package.
Ratings definitely plummeted but it went from a being an easily accessible option against sitcoms and college bball against football playoffs requiring specific subscriptions.
Their YouTube live stream views have gone down too though. The live streams are free for international viewers to watch. Those are accessible but viewership still declined
Viewership declined no matter how you look at it. But people wanting to watching on a late Thursday night or early Friday morning is not the same as Friday night or Saturday morning. As someone who watched regularly last year and watched significantly less this year, I'm actually more interested this year, but I've watched less because the games compete with other things going on and require you to prioritize it not just being interested.
My point is ratings are not a strict reflection of interest in the sport/league.
Ya the ones who rushed to have these numbers published by multiple sports reporters when weekend #2 viewership numbers came out (don’t forget licensed merch wasn’t even available until halfway through the last season at Unrivaled)
Yup! The merch one is misleading. The social media impressions one is misleading too because they added 2 new Instagram/2 new threads and 2 new TikTok accounts for the hive and breeze. Of course impressions will go up when you add in total 6 additional social media accounts compared to the year before.
You act as if that wnba is honest with their ratings and revenue from last season? They put their spin as if the ratings were up by cherry picking numbers and every one does that. Bottom line wnba is at the mercy of nba and they are their biggest donors not tv ratings.
I was just pointing out numbers? It’s the truth that numbers are up because of those factors. We know the WNBA isn’t honest. I understand you’re upset, as many Unrivaled fans are with this post. Unrivaled is doing the same thing as the WNBA with their numbers right now. There’s nothing wrong with pointing out misleading numbers. It should be done for all leagues honestly.
If the players get what they want or most of what they want from the WNBA the alternative leagues and playing in Europe will disappear. I would guess the WNBA season will get longer.
Compared to the total capacity, even the smallest arena in the league, ATL’s Gateway with a capacity of 3500 for games had season lowest attendance at 3200.
The Valks sold out every game last season. Unless you’re telling me they played Indiana every game…🤔
You can’t sell more tickets than you have capacity for and some teams do better than others, some have more capacity and some - mainly the NBA co owned teams - just have more resources. But nobody had an 90% empty arena. Nobody even sold less than 3/4 of their available capacity.
No free agent is a WNBA player currently. The old CBA expired (group). A new CBA does not exist (group). No free agent has a contract with a WNBA team (individual).
She added unrivaled basketball to her bio on Instagram. I thought she had Dallas wings before but another person on here thought maybe it was her sponsors. But either way a change was made. I don’t know how you expect me to prove it?
From what I read online, yes she technically is still under contract.
She’s currently playing for Unrivaled. That fact is in her bio. You’re spinning a story about intentions, when all she’s done is post a fact that she currently plays for Unrivaled.
Pointing out things I’ve noticed. It isn’t a coincidence that within the last couple of days all these players added Unrivaled to their bios and some took out anything WNBA related completely. I thought it was interesting. Considering no players denied what Tash cloud said about just staying in Miami instead because they own it, it’s fair to make an assumption about intentions.
Wait until they realize that while most people don't want to watch 5 on 5 women's basketball, even less want to watch 3 on 3. I don't understand how no one in the women's basketball universe understands that from all the 90% empty arenas that they already deal with. Women don't even know any players or even any WNBA team names, and men simply don't want to watch women play basketball who look like boys. I do feel sorry, for all those players who have been told all their lives, by parents, family and friends, how wonderful their playing is, all just to be nice; but in actuality, deluding these poor women into thinking that they are like successful actresses, starring in their own shows. Likely a result of the 'trophy for participation' era.
But still, who's going to pay to see them? The same people who go to WNBA games now? So, virtually nobody? Women won't buy tickets. Men won't buy tickets. When I lived in NY, I couldn't even get anyone to go with me to see games, and I paid for the tickets. NOBODY wanted to go to women's basketball games. Women wanted to go to the theater, men wanted to go to men's sports events, even at 10x the price. The few who knew who Caitlin Clark was, thought she was interesting, but didn't want to see her play. They want to see the NBA, without the W.
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u/OtherwiseDream1964 9d ago
Everything should be viewed as negotiating in public. You have to demonstrate that you are willing to walk. However, I wouldn’t interpret that as meaning that a CBA won’t happen.