Sporticast 468: ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’

On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest with the WNBA’s CBA talks.

The women’s basketball league and its players are still in negotiations over a new labor accord. A meeting over the weekend at the league’s All-Star festivities in Indianapolis did not appear to yield much progress. Players then took the court at the game in black shirts that read, “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”

The hosts talk about the unique dynamics of this labor negotiation, and how much—if at all—to view it through the lens of recent CBA negotiations in major men’s leagues. On one hand, players are publicly demanding things that far richer leagues don’t share with their players. On the other hand, we’ve seen other women’s leagues recently shoot past the richer men’s leagues in terms of what they offer players.

The hosts talk about the role that Unrivaled may be playing, either outwardly or inwardly, in the talks. They also talk about the growing anti-player sentiment among conservative media outlets. It seems possible that President Donald Trump could at some point weigh in as well.

Speaking of Trump, he said over the weekend that the NFL’s Washington Commanders and MLB’s Cleveland Guardians should both revert back to their prior names. The two teams changed their mascots in the past half decade because of imagery and language that many considered racist against Native Americans. Trump went as far as to suggest that he could slow the Commanders’ push for a new stadium if they don’t revert back—even though it’s unclear how he might do that.

The hosts close by talking about the unraveling of the NFLPA. The football players association has been mired in controversy over the past week, including reporting about collusion with owners, misuse of union funds, allegations against executive director Lloyd Howell from a previous job, and potential conflicts of interest surround Howell and his ongoing consulting for the Carlyle Group. Howell resigned last week, as did chief strategy office (and former president) JC Tretter.

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