The WNBA’s insulting approach to CBA talks isn’t helping anyone

Nearly six weeks is how long the WNBA had to come up with a response or to communicate with the players’ union regarding its most recent collective bargaining agreement proposal.

That’s how long the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association has been waiting for the league to do something, how long progress on a new deal has been shelved.

With the 2026 season inching closer, it’s crunch time for CBA negotiations. And the WNBA showing up empty-handed to Monday’s meeting in New York was a slap in the face to players and fans. 

Monday was supposed to be a pivotal meeting – one that Kelsey Plum said she planned to “learn a lot” from. 

Ultimately, though, it probably could’ve just been an email. 

As ongoing negotiations pose a threat to the scheduled start of the 2026 season, the WNBA came to the conference room without a response to the union’s proposal that was submitted Christmas morning. 

That “set the tone early” for how the meeting would go, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. 

Instead of hammering out details, the two sides spent the bulk of the meeting sharing their reasoning behind the proposal and certain topics. The face time between players and WNBA officials was a form of progress to some degree, but the meeting didn’t yield tangible results. 

Instead, each side left with an understanding that it’s the league’s turn to put something in writing.

And so let the waiting game begin… again.

Why didn’t the WNBA come prepared with something in writing in the first place? Why has it been nearly six weeks since a proposal has been exchanged with the upcoming season scheduled to start fewer than 95 days away?

Sabrina Ionescu #20 and Caitlin Clark #22 wearing t-shirts that say “Pay us what you owe us” at the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game 2025 on July 19, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images

One source told The Post the WNBA didn’t believe the union’s proposal warranted a response because it was “essentially unchanged” from the previous proposal. 

However, that sentiment – that the WNBPA’s most recent proposal was too incremental – was never expressed directly to the union at any point leading up to Monday’s meeting, sources said.

There was a feeling from some within the WNBPA that Monday would be when that response from the league would finally come. 

That didn’t officially happen.

Anyone who’s sat in a seat at a bargaining table understands negotiations are a game of chess. Sometimes, a side makes little, calculated moves or compromises in areas to push the process forward.

The new WNBA is slated to start in fewer than 95 days — if the CBA mess is cleaned up. AP

Even if the WNBA didn’t feel the union’s proposal had many changes, the league still could’ve prepared a response of its own with some minor tweaks or marginal changes. 

The irony in all this is that the WNBA is now working on constructing a response to the union’s initial proposal that the league has had on its desk for nearly six weeks. 

The union walked away from Monday expecting the WNBA’s response “soon,” though there’s no exact timeline set.

It’s been 16 months since players opted out of the previous CBA, but the two sides aren’t any closer to a deal than they were a month ago.  

Neither side wants to delay the start of the 2026 season, which is scheduled to start May 8. Training camp typically starts roughly three weeks before the opener, which, in this case, would be around April 19. 

But pushing back the start date becomes increasingly more likely the longer talks go. 

Monday was an opportunity to make up some lost ground. But the WNBA’s apparent lack of urgency cost each side the chance to do that.