Unrivaled is here, and the first day definitely lived up to the hype. We saw the two founders, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier face off in the debut matchup, with Collier’s Owls taking the first win of the tournament. The next contest saw Rhyne Howard drop a game-winning 33 points as Vinyl beat Rose 79-73.
Advertisement
Just before tip-off, Kendra Andrews spoke about Unrivaled on ESPN with Malika Andrews. They talked about what makes Unrivaled unprecedented for players.
“This league has been described to me as one that is founded by players and built for players. Napheesa Collier and Brianna Stewart, they created this and they wanted to fill the voids that they saw in women’s basketball.”
Kendra went on to talk about how WNBA players commonly go overseas during the offseason to play competitive ball, but more importantly, earn a liveable wage. However, Unrivaled gives them a chance to play at home and earn the pay they deserve.
“The average salary here is $200,000. What’s really unique is all the players in this league get equity in Unrivaled,” Kendra added.
She then continued to list the benefits the players are seeing in the new league that aren’t provided in the WNBA.
“The other priority was the resources that they were able to pour in here, whether it’s the practice facility, the weight room, the courts, the sauna, the hot tub, cold tub. These are amenities that not all WNBA players get in their respective teams.”
On top of that, Kendra also pointed out how childcare is available for the mothers in Unrivaled, which is something players don’t get overseas.
“They are providing childcare for all of the mothers here. They are able to drop their children off in the morning and pick them up after games and after practices. Something that players told me, they usually don’t get to take their families overseas.”
She then pointed out how the facilities provided to them in Unrivaled are going to play a part in the upcoming WNBA CBA.
“They’re [CBA negotiations] going to be ongoing and they[the players] really want Unrivaled to put pressure on the WNBA to give them what they feel they deserve.”
Since it was founded by players, Unrivaled combats all the issues the players face on their everyday basis while playing in the WNBA, or overseas. It’s great to see the players get what they deserve and it surely would play a part when it comes to the WNBA CBA negotiations.
