Candace Parker rips WNBA players’ efforts in All-Star Game after ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ shirts

WNBA legend Candace Parker wasn’t impressed with players’ performances in this month’s All-Star Game after they wore shirts during pregame warmups that said “Pay Us What You Owe Us,” to reflect their desire for higher salaries in the new collective bargaining agreement.

“Y’all cannot come out there with those shirts of ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us,’ and then do that in the All-Star Game,” Parker said on Wednesday’s debut episode of her “Post Moves” podcast with Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston.

Parker was referencing the Team Collier’s lopsided 151-131 victory over Team Clark. It was an underwhelming game compared to last year’s exhibition between Team USA and the WNBA All-Stars. The 2024 game, which Team WNBA won 117-109, was far more competitive and served as an important tune-up for the U.S. Olympic team before the Paris Games.

But Boston defended the players’ efforts, citing the quick turnaround between the All-Star Game and the second half of the season.

“We come out every single night and we show why we deserve the money we deserve,” Boston said. “An All-Star Game, where we have another game in two days, I think that is okay 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.”

The WNBA All-Stars came out wearing warmup shirts that said, "Pay Us What You Owe Us."

The players' union met with the WNBA Thursday and came away frustrated with the economic model proposed by the league.

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Parker, a seven-time WNBA All-Star, doubled down on her stance and said the shirts’ message would have resonated more if the game had been better.

“It wasn’t the fact that you’re doing something to prove why you have to be paid,” Parker said. “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? Women, I understand that it is challenging. You all were added four to five games more this season without compensation, which is not fair.”

Parker continued: “But I think on one of the biggest stages, with people tuned in, in an All-Star setting that was invested in more than any other All-Star game previously, without Caitlin Clark … It was an added opportunity.”

Parker said she couldn’t watch the entire All-Star Game because it was boring.

Despite the lopsided result, the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts still resonated with fans, who drowned out WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s voice chanting “Pay Them!” as she presented Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier with the MVP trophy after the game.

The players had a breakfast meeting the morning of the All-Star Game and collectively decided to wear the shirts amid the labor uncertainty. The league and the players’ union remain far apart in negotiations for a new CBA, with the current one set to expire on Oct. 31.

After years of fighting an existential battle for the league’s survival, WNBA players enter this bargaining cycle with a rare power: leverage. The league is generating record revenue, it’s expanding, and it’s become part of the national consciousness. Now is the time for the players to benefit from what they have brought to the table. They want a business model that allows them to share in the WNBA’s growth and direct more of the revenue towards salaries and player experience.

The league is in a period of hyper growth, as Engelbert illuminated in her annual mid-season address, with dramatic rises in TV viewership, game attendance and merchandise sales in recent years. Money is pouring into the WNBA — via media rights, expansion fees and other avenues — but players need to secure a piece of the growing business before the league enters a sustainability mode.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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