Sue Bird Highlights the Main Thing WNBA Players Struggled With While Demanding for Changes

Over the years, the WNBA has fought diligently for change. Once overlooked in comparison to the NBA, these athletes are finally beginning to receive the respect they deserve. Unfortunately, this change has taken a very long time and continues to do so, something that seems to be changing in recent years. WNBA legend Sue Bird has witnessed the role social media has played as the main catalyst for this shift.

The current situation may appear somewhat dim currently since the WNBPA and team owners are at a standstill in CBA negotiations. However, once they resolve that issue, financially, the players should be in a much better situation. This is the progression Bird couldn’t wait to see.

During the Seattle Storm legend’s 19-year WNBA career, she fought bravely for the rights of her fellow athletes. Now, in her retirement, she can see the work she put in starting to pay off. But what sparked the change can’t go unnoticed.

It’s taken some time but the WNBA players have begun using power of their voices. Not specifically in their conversations with the league’s higher-ups, but with the masses. With the league producing stars on and off the field, leading to vocal fan bases across the board, players’s voices have been amplified a million times.

Bird recalls an incident in the WNBA bubble as the perfect example. “We arrive [in the bubble] and some of the housing was townhomes,” she said on Pablo Torre Finds Out.

“There was a laundry room that was on each floor. And one of the players went to the laundry room the first day, and it was disgusting. We brought it to the attention of the WNBA and the powers that be, and nothing got done,” the former WNBA champion added.

Bird couldn’t believe the league would simply ignore their concern. Fortunately, three-time WNBA champion Alysha Clark was brave enough to speak out.

“It was Aysha Clark going on some ESPN show because she was friends with the producer to talk about it,” Bird said.

Immediately after Bird and Pablo Torre recalled the controversy in the NCAA March Madness bubble, fueled by Sedona Prince. The former Oregon women’s basketball star showed the discrepancy between the women’s and men’s weight rooms. The women had a measly rack of dumbbells, while the men had the latest technology at their disposal.

Oregon’s Sedona Prince shared a video comparing the women’s and men’s weight rooms at their respective NCAA tournament bubbles.

(via @sedonaprince_) pic.twitter.com/7CI9pNopKr

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 19, 2021

That video shed light on the issue and put pressure on the NCAA to make a change. Unfortunately, it has required public action for these athletes to receive the change they ask for. There’s a reason not every player can take that leap like Caitlin Clark and Prince, which Bird highlighted for those unaware.

“The thing that we always struggled with was what is the line between pointing these things out and s******* on yourself,” Bird revealed.

“Hopefully, half the people are like, ‘That’s f***** up.’ But then the other half are going to be like, ‘Yeah, your weight room should suck. You don’t deserve more than that,'” she explained.

That type of mindset remains the same for plenty of people across the world. The main difference now is that the league’s business has begun to boom. The risk is no longer as great as it once was, which has opened the door for great change.

The next big change will come once the league announces the details of the next CBA. Just like everybody else, Bird is waiting patiently to see what unfolds.