{"id":512373,"date":"2026-03-03T21:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/512373\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T21:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:22:08","slug":"dawn-staley-on-the-wnbas-cba-negotiations-and-the-future-of-womens-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/512373\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawn Staley on the WNBA\u2019s CBA negotiations and the future of women\u2019s basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA has seven days until March 10\u2014the date by which the league said if it hasn\u2019t come to a collective bargaining agreement with players, its 30th season may not be able to start as scheduled<\/a> in May. <\/p>\n

For months, the league and its players have been trying to hammer out an agreement\u2014a process that has brought to the surface many of the longest-simmering issues in women\u2019s basketball<\/a>. Players, paid relatively little by professional sports standards for years, are looking to earn their fair share of the league\u2019s growing profits. The league, meanwhile, is conscious of the real economic challenges that it has faced and seems reluctant to agree to anything that could threaten its solid footing. It was only for the first time in 2025 that the WNBA even earned enough to trigger revenue sharing<\/a>. It\u2019s a complex dance, one that comes with years of baggage, passion, and genuine desire on both sides to see women\u2019s basketball thrive into the decades ahead. <\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to recently chat with a women\u2019s basketball legend who has a view into all sides of this debate. Dawn Staley is a former WNBA star, now best known as the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks at the college level, where she\u2019s won three championships. She\u2019s seen the WNBA at all its high points and low points. She\u2019s seen the economic potential of women\u2019s basketball; her latest $4 million-a-year deal at South Carolina made her the highest-paid coach in women\u2019s basketball<\/a>. Last summer, she interviewed for the head coaching job at the New York Knicks<\/a>\u2014which, had she continued, would have made her the NBA\u2019s first female head coach. <\/p>\n

Through all of those experiences, she\u2019s come to a conclusion: women\u2019s sports shouldn\u2019t be singled out for drama that happens in every sport, but professional teams and leagues still need to understand when something involving women does change the conversation. Here are some of Staley\u2019s words of wisdom on women\u2019s basketball\u2019s hottest topics: <\/p>\n

Being the highest-paid coach in women\u2019s basketball? \u201cI\u2019ve never been one that\u2019s driven by money. I am, however, driven by principle and core values,\u201d she told me. \u201cI do think it stands for something to be in a male-dominated sport, to be a Black woman and to hold that title.\u201d <\/p>\n

The WNBA\u2019s CBA drama? \u201cThe stage that we\u2019re in at women\u2019s basketball is happens in every other sport. We shouldn\u2019t be held to a different standard, because we\u2019re women. \u2026 I won\u2019t be happy if there\u2019s a lockout, but I\u2019m kind of happy that the players are stepping up for what they feel is their worth.\u201d <\/p>\n

Whether she would want to be the NBA\u2019s first female head coach? \u201cAn NBA franchise has to be ready to hire the first female coach.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to prepare for a female head coach, because things will change. The questions regarding basketball will be more sexist questions. If I had gotten the job, a five-game losing streak wouldn\u2019t be just about basketball. It would be more about was she fit for the job? Can she do it? Can she handle it? It\u2019s not your normal hire, no matter how much we want it to be, it\u2019s not.\u201d <\/p>\n

What she learned from her sister\u2019s leukemia diagnosis, which has led her to become an advocate for screening and early detection, including through a partnership with Aflac<\/a>. \u201cIt just taught me to exhale and and bring some balance to what I\u2019m doing.\u201d <\/p>\n

And her ultimate goal as a women\u2019s basketball legend: \u201cThe responsibility is to make sure that women\u2019s basketball is OK. To really demand the things that we need to in our sport, to really have people respect us.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the players are trying to do now\u2014and we\u2019ll likely have to wait a week to see what happens next. <\/p>\n

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune\u2019s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES<\/p>\n

The latest at the Labor Department.\u00a0Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and her team have been the subject of a misconduct investigation<\/a>, including everything from allegedly using department funds for personal travel, an affair with a member of her security team, and her husband’s ban from HQ after allegations of unwanted sexual advances on staff. Last night, two of her top aides were forced out<\/a>. A spokesperson for the Labor Department said that “the secretary remains focused on advancing the president\u2019s America First agenda.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keep an eye on Texas. Texas Democrats go to the polls today<\/a> to decide between Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state representative James Talarico as the right candidate to attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat from the GOP. And it’s become about a lot more<\/a>\u2014race, gender, what qualifies as progressive and as moderate, political style, and Democrats’ different strategies to fight back against Trumpism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why the U.K. is making Epstein arrests\u2014and the U.S. isn’t.\u00a0The DOJ has had access to the latest wave of documents for some time, so the information trickling out isn’t new to them. Meanwhile, other countries are learning about misconduct revealed in emails for the first time,<\/a> and taking action as they see fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Love Is Blind\u00a0embraces the manosphere\u00a0Wired<\/a><\/p>\n

Maybe knowing too much about motherhood has ruined me\u00a0The Cut<\/a><\/p>\n

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s wardrobe finds a new obsessive audience\u00a0NYT<\/a><\/p>\n

PARTING WORDS<\/p>\n

“I’ve always been someone that’s focused on the gain, not the gap.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 WNBA star Kelsey Plum on the status of collective bargaining negotiations<\/a> between the league and its players<\/p>\n