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In two months, many of the biggest stars in women’s basketball will be taking their talents to South Beach for the start of the Unrivaled three-on-three league’s second season.
Unrivaled set a high standard during their inaugural campaign earlier this year, as they managed to attract a lot of intrigue from the basketball community. Now there are expectations for the league to continue building on that success.
The league has found itself in an interesting position, given that the WNBA league office and the players are busy negotiating for the league’s next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Since Unrivaled is notorious for giving its players salaries that make the current WNBA salaries look minuscule, Unrivaled can be used as an example of what the world’s best women’s basketball players should be making in the world’s premier women’s basketball league.
But that’s not where the interest ends. Unrivaled’s co-founders are WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. These two happen to be on the WNBA Players’ Association (WNBPA) executive committee, with both being Vice Presidents. Collier is also arguably the most vocal among WNBA players about her frustration with the league regarding how much players are paid (among other matters).
Many fans and media members feel like Collier and Stewart’s involvement in the CBA negotiations is a conflict of interest, given their founding role and investment with Unrivaled.
Sophie Cunningham Notes ‘Conflict of Interest’ From Unrivaled Founders Amid WNBA CBA Talks
Not every WNBA star is playing in Unrivaled this winter, as Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham isn’t partaking. During a November 6 episode of her Show Me Something podcast, Cunningham hinted at the same sentiment that the aforementioned fans shared about Collier and Stewart being at the CBA negotiation table.
“This is good, this is kind of some tea. So both of [Collier and Stewart], great f****** players, right? Like, phenomenal,” Cunningham said to her co-host, West Wilson, when explaining Unrivaled.
“But they are also a part of [the WNBA’s] exec board. And so that could be a little conflict of interest, because W and Unrivaled,” Cunningham continued.
Later on, she added, “That’s why there’s some conflict of interest, a little bit. So that’s interesting,” with a wry smile.
While Cunningham made it clear that she supports Unrivaled, her speaking about this potential conflict of interest on a podcast is sure to turn some heads — largely in the form of people nodding their noggins in agreement.
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