The WNBA and members of the players union met in person on Monday in New York as CBA negotiations continue, nearly a month past the last deadline. The meeting lasted around three hours, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike reportedly attended the meeting alongside Alysha Clark, Brianna Turner and Stefanie Dolson. Union VPs Napheesa Collier and Kelsey Plum were slated to attend, but had travel issues. Per the Associated Press, they joined the meeting virtually, alongside Breanna Stewart.
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The union also encouraged players to take part in the meeting virtually via a video call, a source with knowledge of the discussion told Yahoo Sports. The source described it as similar to when more than 40 players attended meetings at All-Star weekend in Indianapolis.
There was disappointment the league had not responded to the players latest proposal in December, a source with knowledge of the talks told Yahoo Sports. The meeting largely centered in sentiments and philosophies on both sides. The union made clear they expect the league to respond to their proposal as the next step, the source said.
Ogwumike told Front Office Sports that the league not bringing a proposal “kind of set the tone for the conversation because we were hoping to hear otherwise.”
The meeting is believed to be the first in-person meeting involving players since shortly after the WNBA Finals concluded in October and the initial CBA deadline passed on Oct. 31. It included the league’s CBA leadership, legal team, members of the Labor Relations Committee and other owners, a league source with knowledge of the discussions told Yahoo Sports. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was also reportedly in attendance.
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Plum told reporters at Unrivaled’s tour stop in Philadelphia on Friday that the meeting had been scheduled, but was unsure when talks for it began. Sources with knowledge of the discussions disagreed on which side pushed for it and got it on the books, but Monday’s meeting came together quickly.
“At the end of the day we’re human beings,” Plum told reporters in Philadelphia. “I think conversation face-to-face goes a long way, right? And you can understand body language, you can understand tone, you can understand all those type of things. And intent. And I just believe that eye contact is actually a massive thing that we forget.”
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Unrivaled players said last week they were in frequent communication with union leadership, and executive director Terri Jackson came to their base in Miami to meet with them the week prior. The latest proposal was submitted by the union to the league, a league source told Yahoo Sports. The league declined to respond, viewing it as “essentially unchanged” from a previous proposal, the source said.
The league has a busy offseason ahead of it once a CBA is passed. There is a two-team expansion draft, and every veteran in the league, besides two (Lexie Brown and Kalani Brown), will be a free agent. The WNBA Draft is scheduled for April 13, and the season is slated to begin on May 8.