The WNBA made waves during All-Star Weekend when the players took the floor ahead of the July 19 game wearing shirts that read, “Pay Us What You Owe Us.” It was a loud message sent to the league in reference to the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
Following the game, in which Team Collier beat Team Clark, 151-131, Washington Mystics’ Brittney Sykes held up an all-cap sign that read “PAY THE PLAYERS” as Naphessa Collier was being interview at center court after being named All-Star Game MVP. Fans inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse showed support, chanting “pay the players” in the midst of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressing the crowd.
Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said after the game that a meeting was held the morning of the All-Star Game, which is when they all agreed to wear the shirts. It’s certainly gotten the players’ point across clearly, though retired WNBA legend Candace Parker took issue with the lack of effort in the All-Star Game paired with such a powerful statement they made with the shirts.
“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 the debut episode of the Post Moves podcast with Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston.
Boston disagreed with Parker’s statement, mentioning the amount of effort they play with every night during the WNBA 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.”
Parker, though, saw it as a missed opportunity.
“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 added four to five games more this season without [additional] 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, I think it was an opportunity to really go out there and — it was an added opportunity. It wasn’t going to subtract anything, but I think the narrative on Monday would’ve been, ‘Well how come the guys don’t play in the All-Star Game? How come these ladies come out there and they hoop and they understand their responsibility? I just think that it would have really maximized the moment of wearing the shirt along with giving the product.”
Parker added that she tried to watch the All-Star Game, but couldn’t watch it due to the lack of effort. Boston understood where Parker was coming from, but at the end of the day that’s not the route the WNBA All-Stars decided to make.
Even in a blowout game though, it didn’t detract from the message the players wanted to get across, and it shouldn’t take them putting in 100% effort during a exhibition game for the message to mean something. And to Boston’s point, given that the league returned to action with just two days rest — as opposed to three or four days for most teams after the NBA’s showcase — it’s understandable why the players don’t give all-out effort for the All-Star Game.
In regards to the collective bargaining agreement, there’s been little headway in establishing a new CBA. Last October, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association opted out of the current CBA, which will end at the completion of the 2025 season. Talks were held during All-Star Weekend between the league and the WNBPA, but players came away frustrated and with no further movement towards a resolution.
Part of what the players have demanded is higher salaries and a bigger slice of the league revenue, but there has been pushback from the league. The hope is to have a new CBA in place in October, and while a lockout isn’t the goal of either side, if an agreement isn’t reached before the 2026 season, that could very well be the reality.