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Eight years into her tumultuous professional career, Gabby Williams finally received a WNBA All-Star nod in 2025. While grateful for the opportunity, the Seattle Storm forward is using the platform to speak out on her long-standing belief that the league is not as fair to its players as it could be.
After attending the Thursday night CBA meeting, Williams now believes the WNBA is trying to “push out” other professional women's basketball leagues. Specifically, Williams claimed the league is trying to overpower the recently launched Unrivaled League and Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball League, she said during WNBA All-Star media day.
“It's very clear that the WNBA wants to push away all other leagues without paying us more than what those leagues pay us,” Williams said, via Desert Wave Media. “It would make sense if they were paying us more here, but it still isn't the case, even with the new proposals. It's very clear now that they want to push Unrivaled out, push AU out. They want to do it as much as possible. So I think now, more than ever, it's really important to push against these active issues.”
“especially being in that CBA meeting yesterday, it’s very clear that the league wants to push away all other leagues” man!!!!!!! gabby would take down cathy and co. all by herself if she could. GET THEM pic.twitter.com/eJMMUJSYvA
— 🏀 (@useyourlegs) July 18, 2025
Since re-signing with the Storm at the end of the 2024 season, Williams has been on the hottest stretch of her professional career. The 28-year-old is averaging career-highs in points (13.2), assists (4.4), steals (2.4) and blocks (0.5) per game.
Storm star Gabby Williams' ongoing WNBA pay gripe
Coming out of the WNBA CBA meeting, Williams only has more fuel to add to her fire. The outspoken star has been one of the leading advocates for athlete pay in women's basketball, and refuses to relent on the prominent issue.
Since entering the league as the No. 4 overall pick in 2018, Williams has repeatedly pushed for better pay. Some fans believe that her activism contributed to the Storm's decision not to re-sign her in the 2023-2024 offseason, although they would ultimately bring her back at the end of the 2024 season.
Like many of her peers, she spends every WNBA offseason playing overseas, typically in France. Williams, whose mother is French, maintains dual citizenship despite being born and raised in the United States. As the leader of the French national team, Williams notably caught fans' attention with her dominance during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. She led France to a one-point loss to Team USA in the gold medal game.
Despite her passion for player equity, Williams is not a member of the WNBPA leadership board. Instead, her teammate Nneka Ogwumike serves as the organization's president, with veteran guard Lexie Brown also on the board as a team representative.
