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WNBPA Board of Advocates brings strength in numbers

By Jackie Powell

MINNEAPOLIS, MN- AUGUST 16: Elena Delle Donne #11 of the Washington Mystics and Natasha Cloud #9 of the Washington Mystics celebrate during the game against the Minnesota Lynx on August 16, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN- AUGUST 16: Elena Delle Donne #11 of the Washington Mystics and Natasha Cloud #9 of the Washington Mystics celebrate during the game against the Minnesota Lynx on August 16, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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With the CBA deadline approaching, the newly announced Board of Advocates looks to provide swagger and support.

For the WNBPA, the newly announced Board of Advocates is far more than just a list of names.

According to the official announcement made on August 29, the initial purpose of the Board’s formation is to share insider knowledge, provide guidance and “unique perspectives” with the WNBPA’s Executive Committee and the W itself.

New York Liberty guard Bria Hartley praised the idea of this super team of advisors, noting that every women’s sports league should have a body like this.

“We have a lot of talented players and we just want to create the best conditions for the players if that’s player safety, player health,” she said.  “This idea sounds like what women’s leagues should have. And we just want to keep pushing that.”

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Elena Delle Donne, one of the Executive Committee’s Vice Presidents of the Player’s Association,  sees another function of the 14-person advisory board: for its members to simply spread the word.

“To have a group of people who are super powerful and have strong voices and can speak for us and can even get some of their friends on board,” she said after a win against the New York Liberty on August 25. “It’s great when you can get the support of others through a big moment like this.”

Stacey Abrams, who ran to become Georgia’s first African American governor last fall, stood out as the biggest name among the list of advocates that will be serving the WNBPA. According to Delle Donne, Terri Jackson,  the Executive Director of the Players’ Association, had a hand in forming the collective that will serve on the board.

Abrams isn’t new to providing her expertise and influence to assist the WNBA. When she served as Georgia’s House minority leader, she was instrumental in bringing the Atlanta Dream into the league. In 2013 she served as a General Counsel to the Dream.  In addition to Jackson’s influence, players around the league “offered up names” to complete the board.

Having the former gubernatorial candidate in the trenches has great significance for the players. Delle Donne explained her feelings having Abrams aboard.

“It’s huge,” she said. “It means we’re strong.  And we are stronger in numbers.”

Natasha Cloud, who is the Washington Mystics’ representative to the Executive Committee,  views the Board of Advocates as a source of security, especially during the negotiations of a new CBA.  “It just protects us a little more,” she said. “It just puts us in a good position to have people kind of overseeing us, especially in this negotiation process. We don’t want to lockout next year and we are implementing things to keep that from happening.”

With the WNBA playoffs in full swing, eyes will be on the CBA negotiations. Hartley, as a mother of a two-year-old, cited player safety and maternity benefits as hot button topics for reform.

WHITE PLAINS, NY- JULY 20: Bria Hartley #14 of the New York Liberty warms up alongside her son before the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on July 20, 2019 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images)
WHITE PLAINS, NY- JULY 20: Bria Hartley #14 of the New York Liberty warms up alongside her son before the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on July 20, 2019 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) /

“I mean a lot of it is player safety, that includes travel,” she said.  “Also things like maternity.  As far as player moms, whether it comes to childcare or like having a certain amount of bedrooms when you do have a child. There are restrictions in the CBA for that…Obviously that hits home for me.”

With the current agreement expiring after Halloween of this year, Executive Committee President Nneka Ogwumike told the New York Times that she’s hoping for completion of a new agreement before the beginning of the finals, which will tipoff on September 29.

Based on the calls Hartley’s been involved in as the New York Liberty’s team representative, she believes this goal laid out by Ogwumike is definitely possible.

“I think we are doing a good job of pursuing things,” she said. “I think the league also sees that some of these things make sense. So hopefully we can gain some progress and see what happens in the next few months.”

For the players, the news of the Board was a relief. But the work is far from over.

“We are moving forward,” Cloud said. “We’re happy, [about the Board of Advocates] but we are not complacent though, we still have things that need to move forward in order to progress this league.”

Both Cloud and Hartley did express that the Board of Advocates and the CBA are about more than themselves. The fight is for the future.

“Whether we reap the benefits of not, we want this league to grow and we need to put the work in now to do so,” Cloud said.

“It goes back days when T-Spoon [Teresa Weatherspoon] was in this league, and we are hoping to push this league forward, ” Hartley said.  “Some of the things that we battle as players now so for the girls in the future, they won’t have to battle those same things.”

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