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As a delay to the WNBA season nears, the pressure mounts for the league and WNBA players’ association to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement. So, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese used their sway, as two of the biggest brands in the WNBA, to speak out on the holdup. And, even offer some advice to break the stalemate in Clark’s case.
Per Front Office Sports, the players submitted their latest proposal on Friday night after multiple rounds of counters hadn’t yielded common ground or concessions. Now, the league’s March 10th deadline approaches. Either a deal gets done or the 2026 season gets delayed.
With the deadline nearing, the pressure is on.
However, Clark has a solution — good old-fashioned face-to-face negotiations.
“I don’t understand why we don’t just get in a room and iron it out and shake hands,” Clark said, via FOS. “That’s how business is. You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides. For me, that’s what I would love to see.”
Angel Reese joins Caitlin Clark in speaking out
Negotiating in person could lead to common ground for both sides. But, Reese knows negotiations aren’t easy, no matter where they take place.
“I talk to my team all the time; when I negotiate deals or anything, it’s negotiation. You go back and forth until we come to a common ground of what we both can go for,” Reese said Saturday during U.S.A training camp media availability. “So I’m just going to continue to be a voice and do whatever I can as a young voice that knows that I do have a platform in this.”
But when asked, which was more important — playing basketball or the players getting everything they want — Reese was clear.
Both.
“We do all want to play basketball. At the same time, we do want to be compensated for what we deserve,” she said.
And therein lies the rub. Currently, neither side has been willing to budge off their positions enough to get back to playing basketball. And as their deadline nears, it’ll take some quick negotiating prowess to hammer out a deal in time.
Clark and Reese won’t be part of those negotiations either way. But, they’ll continue to use their platform to make suggestions or help in any way they can.
