Days after Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum's grievances with the WNBPA came to light, Stewart is making it known that those comments were meant to remain private. In an interview with the Associated Press, the New York Liberty star doubled down on the players' union's unity and clarified her feelings regarding the executive committee.
“This is a letter that was meant for Terri [Jackson, WNBPA executive director], and for the [executive committee], for us to really have a conversation and stay strong in all the things that we're negotiating, and I believe that we are. We are still unified and understanding what we're fighting for, and that's the messaging that we had on our [executive committee] call last night,” Stewart explained. “Our main goal is to make sure that we have the best possible deal for all players.”
As a vice president of the WNBPA, Stewart has been directly involved in the negotiations with the WNBA over a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) deal. After a conversation took place between the members of the executive committee on Tuesday, Stewart said that she's more comfortable with where the union stands than she was when she wrote the letter.
“Sometimes hard conversations need to be had,” she said. “I felt better after it and know that we finished that call understanding that we're representing the larger body [of players] and we have work to be done, and we're going to do that work.”
Stewart and Plum originally penned the three-page letter to Jackson to express frustration over their involvement in the talks with the W.
“We do not feel like we have an adequate seat at the table in these negotiations,” the letter read. “We are frustrated that we have not made more progress as we near the March 10 deadline and we believe this is a result of a breakdown in communication between you and the Executive Committee and players more broadly.”
The WNBPA executive committee released a follow-up statement on Wednesday, declaring that they're unified in their desire to strike a better CBA deal with the league. The March 10 deadline for a new agreement is fast approaching, and with the players' union deciding that the WNBA's latest proposal is unacceptable, it's possible that the league may face its first-ever work stoppage.
