As the New York Liberty prepare for their playoff opener against the Phoenix Mercury on September 14, Breanna Stewart is voicing concerns that reach far beyond the court.
The 2023 WNBA MVP, who has her eyes on a championship run, has also turned her focus to an issue that could shape the league’s future, the potential for a lockout if labor negotiations continue to stall.
Stewart spoke this week on the podcast Welcome To The Party, where she explained the frustrations players are facing in discussions over a new collective bargaining agreement.
“Yeah, there’s um, there’s meetings that are happening,” Stewart said, before quickly adding that the progress has been slow and unsatisfying.
“I feel like um from a player perspective like it’s really frustrating to me that we haven’t been able to even come to an agreement as far as revenue share.
“We haven’t talked about anything else important and there’s like family planning, player housing, pension and the idea of like paying back former players for what they’ve done.”
A playoff push overshadowed by uncertainty
Stewart emphasized that the timing of negotiations complicates everything. The Liberty are in the thick of the postseason, leaving little bandwidth for off-court battles.
“What’s the hardest part is now? It’s we’re going into playoffs. When we go into playoffs, like I’m not doing extra stuff like brand partnerships, anything like that, because I want to be locked in for my team,” she explained.
That commitment means fewer hours spent in meetings, which Stewart admitted may frustrate league officials.
“So now it’s like, well, the WNBA can’t be mad at us for being locked in where our team is and focus on winning a championship and not able to be in as many meetings.”
For Stewart and her peers, however, the stakes are clear. Without a new agreement, the league could see free agency grind to a halt.
“If the CBA is not done, then none of the free agency happens, and the entire league is a free agent because everybody wants to be making sure they’re capitalizing on what is potentially going to be higher salaries,” she said.
Stewart admitted that the prospect of a lockout is already weighing on players around the league.
“It’s a little bit concerning, and I feel like just even in my locker room as of late, everybody’s like, wow, this is like this might actually create a lockout.
“Like, we’re really like not going to come to terms right now, but who knows, maybe there’ll be like a last-second thing happening.”
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