The World Players Association (WPA), representing professional athletes' unions from around the globe, stands in unwavering solidarity with the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) as they fight for a collective bargaining agreement that reflects the true value of their labor and the unprecedented growth they have driven in women's professional basketball.
WNBA players are demanding what athletes in every professional sport deserve: an equitable share of the revenue they generate, safe and professional working conditions, meaningful benefits, and recognition for the transformational impact they have made on the league and on women's sports worldwide.
A Global Issue: Worker Rights
This fight extends far beyond basketball courts in the U.S. Globally, women athletes face the same playbook: footballers fight for equal pay, rugby players for basic standards, tennis players for visibility—all told to accept incremental progress while being denied investment, professionalism, and governance priority.
Solidarity is Not Optional
What happens in these negotiations will reverberate across women's sports globally. A transformational agreement will establish a new standard: when women athletes deliver commercial success, they receive their rightful share. It will prove the momentum behind women's sports translates into structural change and smart economics, not just visibility.
Failure sends a chilling message: that even breaking records, selling out arenas, and signing billion-dollar deals won't earn women equal partnership in the enterprises they built.
WPA and its member unions stand together with the WNBPA for transformational change.