The WNBA Players Association has brought out the big guns to help them in their fight against the league.
On Thursday, the WNBAPA announced their “super team” made up of people from the business, politics, entertainment, media, and sports world to work as a Board of Advocates, in their attempt to gain better pay and working conditions.
Members of the group include: Stacey Abrams (Founder, Fair Fight and former Minority Leader, Georgia House of Representatives), Adrienne Becker (Co-Founder/CEO, Level Forward), David Cooper (Adjunct Professor, NYU Preston Robert Tisch Global Institute of Sport), Alex English (Retired NBA Player and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee), Sarah Flynn (General Manager, Thirty Five Ventures), Sunny Hostin (co-host of The View and Senior Legal Correspondent for ABC News), Kathy Ireland (Chair, CEO & Chief Designer, kathy Ireland Worldwide), Sharlee Jeter (President, Turn 2 Foundation, Inc. and VP of Strategy & Development, Jeter Ventures), Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (Former Mayor of Baltimore), Joyce Roche (Former President & CEO, Girls, Inc), Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball Head Coach and retired NBA All-Star), Trisch Smith (Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer/EVP, Edelman PR), Tamika Tremaglio (Greater Washington Managing Principal, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services), and Brent Zachary (Program Manager, Level Forward).
“As the first labor union to represent women professional athletes, we are thrilled to announce our collaboration with the Board of Advocates,” said WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike in a statement. “The WNBPA’s rallying cry for us and working women around the world is “Bet on Women” – a message reinforced and embodied by each member of the Board.”
Last November, WNBAPA opted out of their current collective bargaining agreement with the league. The current CBA was signed in 2014 and runs through the 2021 season. It will expire on Oct. 31, 2019, or the day after the WNBA Finals.
A new CBA will need to be agreed upon before the 2020 season, or there will be a work stoppage. Top priorities for the WNBA players are higher salaries and better travel conditions.
