JUDGMENT DAY?

The WNBA imposed deadline of March 10 has come and gone, and we don’t quite know where things stand.

After over 12 hours, both Cathy Engelbert and Terri Jackson spoke briefly with reporters camped out outside a NYC hotel to get immediate updates after the final meeting before the deadline. Players, union and league staff arrived around 5pm ET on Tuesday and left at 5am Wednesday morning.

Players reported in attendance were Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Bri Turner, and Alysha Clark.

While talks were classified as “ continuing” and headed in the “right direction”. However, there is no deal to report.

League management and the union will continue negotiations, but seemingly remain stuck on two critical issues: Revenue share and housing. This has also prevented the sides from tackling other issues such as retirement benefits, maternity benefits, etc.

There haven’t been any leaks as to what the latest proposals have been. Is that a sign that things are moving in the right direction?

One can only hope.

Even if an agreement is miraculously reached, it doesn’t guarantee the league will be able to operate under their new paradigm immediately. Madeline Kenney of the New York Post reports that it would take lawyers around three weeks to ratify a formal contract.

As negotiations drag on, the eyes of Congress are on the WNBA.

“We are also aware of recent reports suggesting that the league may be trying to divide players during these negotiations,” the Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote in a letter to Cathy Engelbert.

“If accurate, such actions could raise concerns under the NLRA, which protects workers’ rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining free from employer interference.”

It’s been a complicate, frustrating road to this point. In a special video on Black Rosie Media, Erica L. Ayala conducted an interview with Professor David Berri!

Erica and Dr. Berri discussed the current CBA talks, the history of sports labor organizing, the NBA’s fuzzy math, and plenty more essential topics.

The WNBA and WNBPA have a lot to figure out. League business remains on hold and new players entering via the Draft are joining a league in uncertainty.

At this point, everyone has to put their best proposals forward so business can resume. There's no more time to waste.