{"id":39110,"date":"2025-08-01T10:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/39110\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:13:09","slug":"candace-parker-criticizes-wnba-players-for-effort-in-asg-after-t-shirts-for-better-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/39110\/","title":{"rendered":"Candace Parker Criticizes WNBA Players for Effort in ASG After T-Shirts for Better Pay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former WNBA star and current TNT Sports analyst\/commentator Candace Parker believes WNBA players should have given a greater effort in the All-Star Game, especially after they wore “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts amid their ongoing negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (h\/t Jenna West<\/a> of The Athletic).<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019all cannot come out there with those shirts of \u2018Pay Us What You Owe Us,\u2019 and then do that in the All-Star Game,\u201d Parker said in part to Indiana Fever center\/forward Aliyah Boston on the debut episode of their new podcast, “Post Moves.”<\/p>\n

Parker, who also said the game was “awful,” broke down her point in more detail. <\/p>\n

In essence, Parker doesn’t believe the players had to necessarily give a great effort, per se, but that doing so would have maximized the moment of a grandiose All-Star weekend and strengthened the message on their shirts.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t the fact that you were doing something to prove the fact that you have to be paid. I think it was just an opportunity to me on one of the biggest stages with those shirts being worn. Everyone always talks about how the NBA does not play in All-Star Games. But guess what, they come down, they do windmills, they do stuff like that, right?<\/p>\n

“Women, I understand, that it is challenging, you all were added [four] games this season without compensation, which is unfair. But I think on one of the biggest stages, with people tuned in, in an All-Star setting that was invested more than any other All-Star Game previously, without Caitlin Clark, right? She was not playing. I think it was an opportunity to really go out there…it was an added opportunity.<\/p>\n

“It’s not gonna subtract anything, but I think the narrative on Monday would have been: ‘Well, how come the guys don’t play in the All-Star Game? How come these ladies come out there and they hoop, and they understand the responsibility?’ Like I just think that it would have really maximized the moment of wearing the shirt along with giving the product. <\/p>\n

“Like I tried to watch the All-Star Game. But after one slow Eurostep and people pulling up…I’m a fan of the WNBA and I can’t watch this. So I just think that, no, you all didn’t have to, but I think it was an opportunity that you could have built on more momentum, if that makes sense.”<\/p>\n

WNBA players have opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, which expires on Oct. 31. Tensions are high, and a recent meeting did not satisfy that group.<\/p>\n

So this is obviously a big moment for the players as they hope for a much better CBA in a time where the league’s popularity and reach has never been higher.<\/p>\n

Amid that fight, players called attention to their plight with the shirts. There was much pomp and circumstance this weekend, and Parker noted that the event has grown by leaps and bounds since she first took part in it in 2013.<\/p>\n

The game itself, as has become commonplace with some pro leagues’ All-Star events (particularly the NBA), wasn’t great. Defense was optional or non-existent, and Team Collier set the single-game scoring record in a 151-131 victory over Team Clark. <\/p>\n

It was a stark difference from last year’s game, which had a ton of juice when Team USA fell to a team of WNBA All-Stars 117-109 before they went to Paris and won gold in the Summer Olympics.<\/p>\n

Of course, the circumstances were much different, with a team of players who hadn’t been picked for the national team trying to prove themselves against players who were.<\/p>\n

This time around, it was a typical All-Star game and festivity.<\/p>\n

Boston had a good counterpoint, though, in that it didn’t really make much sense for players to go all out with the regular season starting up again so soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come out every single night and we show why we deserve the money we deserve,\u201d Boston said. \u201cAn All-Star Game, where we have another game in [three] days, I think that it\u2019s OK to just go out there and hoop and have some fun. Because on Tuesday, we were back at it, and we were playing and we were showing once again why we deserve to get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The labor fight is obviously one to keep eyes on now and down the road. In the meantime, though, the WNBA’s second half of the season is well under way. The regular season rolls into early September before playoffs begin, with the Finals set for October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former WNBA star and current TNT Sports analyst\/commentator Candace Parker believes WNBA players should have given a greater…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-39110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}