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Message: [QUOTE="NycUcWbbFan, post: 5352035, member: 13453"] Three things on this illuminating article (shared by Dillon77): [LIST] [*][URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46607235/wnba-2025-cba-negotiations-cathy-engelbert-officiating']WNBA owners, insiders on Cathy Engelbert, officiating, CBA - ESPN[/URL] [/LIST] First, the CBA negotiations is essentially about the NBA [URL='https://the-boneyard.com/threads/2025-wnba-off-season.209326/post-5350369']deciding[/URL] what [URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46607235/wnba-2025-cba-negotiations-cathy-engelbert-officiating#:~:text=One%20league%20source,for%20too%20long.']type of owner[/URL] it is, and whether they are the [B]same type of owner[/B] for the men and for the women (and not different from every [URL='https://frontofficesports.com/newsletter/wnba-labor-strife-is-no-bueno/']other [/URL]major U.S. sports league): [LIST] [*]"A lot of times that comes down to how people think about their business -- as an investment versus a true business on the day-to-day." [*]Across various articles, such as [URL='https://frontofficesports.com/standoff-over-wnbas-future-has-dominated-finals/#:~:text=The%20league%20has%20denied%20proposing%20a%20fixed%20salary%20model%20not%20tied%20to%20WNBA%20revenue.%20But%20the%20latest%20model%20offered%20by%20the%20league%20is%20similar%20to%20the%20current%20CBA%2C%20in%20which%20revenue%2Dsharing%20is%20triggered%20only%20if%20league%20revenue%20exceeds%20certain%20targets%2C%20sources%20say.']this one [/URL](Front Office Sports), it is clear that the CBA talks is a referendum on the type of player compensation model that the NBA wants for women; [B]the NBA currently doesn’t want[/B] the NBA model to apply to the WNBA; [*]The NBA currently wants to recodify its pre-women’s basketball groundswell model from the 2020 CBA but with updated hard numbers (rather than the NBA’s [URL='https://nypost.com/2025/10/16/sports/what-to-expect-as-fiery-wnba-cba-negotiations-comes-to-a-head/#:~:text=Players%20are%20hoping%20for%20a%20salary%20model%20similar%20to%20the%20NBA%E2%80%99s%2C%20where%20basketball%2Drelated%20income%20%28such%20as%20TV%20deals%2C%20sponsorships%20and%20ticket%20sales%29%20helps%20determine%20the%20next%20year%E2%80%99s%20cap.']soft salary cap system[/URL]); [*]By recodifying the 2020 CBA model, the NBA is deliberately ignoring its [URL='https://the-boneyard.com/threads/napheesa-has-her-say-on-wnba-leadership.209446/post-5343339']David Stern mid-to-late-80s history[/URL] that showed the NBA’s soft salary cap system is viable, the conditions for which has [B]been replicated[/B] by the WNBA entering the 2026 season; [*]Switching to the NBA’s system does mean that the WNBA’s costs are borne by all owners (and not just by the WNBA teams in order to [URL='https://the-boneyard.com/threads/2025-wnba-off-season.209326/post-5350369']cry poverty in an opaque and vacuous way[/URL]). [/LIST] Second, on officiating: [LIST] [*]Whoever the league sources who essentially said (paraphrased) [URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46607235/wnba-2025-cba-negotiations-cathy-engelbert-officiating#:~:text=A%20league%20source,to%2010%20years']”what problem?”[/URL] and another who said (paraphrased) [URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46607235/wnba-2025-cba-negotiations-cathy-engelbert-officiating#:~:text=Another%20source%20added:%20%22I%20hate%20to%20genderize%20it%20at%20all%2C%20but%20if%20you%27re%20being%20trained%20in%20the%20G%20League%2C%20marginal%20contact%20is%20going%20to%20look%20very%20different%20there%20than%20in%20a%20professional%20women%27s%20game.%22']”women are wuss compared to the men”[/URL] (see also &1[5]) [URL='https://the-boneyard.com/threads/2025-wnba-off-season.209326/post-5344569']should be excluded[/URL] from the new committee that will somehow “do better” than the Competition Committee; [*]Sue and Ryan Rocco had constructive things to say &1 (and a direct answer &1[1] &1[2] to one team owner disparaging Napheesa); [*]The WNBA, under Engelbert’s delegation to others, has repeatedly ignored NBA history vis a vis [URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46607235/wnba-2025-cba-negotiations-cathy-engelbert-officiating#:~:text=%22Honestly%2C%20it%27s%20like%20the%20NBA%20in%20the%2080s%20and%2090s%20out%20there.%20When%20the%20Bad%20Boys%20beat%20the%20s%2D%2D%2D%20out%20of%20Michael%20Jordan%2C%20they%20had%20to%20change%20it.%20They%20got%20rid%20of%20handchecking.%20They%20got%20rid%20of%20a%20lot%20of%20stuff%20because%20people%20didn%27t%20want%20to%20watch.%22']Michael Jordan and Detroit[/URL] (see also &1[3]); [*]The article does highlight some lack of non-personnel investment (central replay center requirements, etc.) which require investment by all (100%) not just the WNBA (42%) owners; [*]But the article fails to account for the central problem &2: WNBA referees are paid by game and are always looking for an NBA salaried job; thus all the refereeing “fluff” in the article and in this [URL='https://www.sbnation.com/2025/1/3/24330571/wnba-officiating-referees-womens-basketball-cheryl-reeve-liberty-lynx-caitlin-clark-monty-mccutchen']lengthy one[/URL] (featuring the two top WNBA refereeing officials) are just that, “fluff”. [/LIST] Third, on Engelbert; [LIST] [*]The “ring of authenticity” players felt about Napheesa’s prepared remarks is shared by owners, due to Engelbert’s [URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46538558/wnba-players-relationship-commissioner-cathy-engelbert-cba-negotiations-wnba-finals#:~:text=Even%20that%20success,she%20says%20it.%22']humble-brag [/URL]([I]you should be thanking me[/I]) and [URL='https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/46607235/wnba-2025-cba-negotiations-cathy-engelbert-officiating#:~:text=%22I%20believe%20Napheesa%27s,that%20derogatory%20tone.']derogatory[/URL] way of communicating; [*]Engelbert’s alleged bragging about the WNBA media rights deal was strange because it was an allocation from the NBA; but Engelbert might think it was made possible due to the [URL='https://frontofficesports.com/standoff-over-wnbas-future-has-dominated-finals/#:~:text=one%20of%20her,in%20the%20WNBA.%C2%A0']costly [/URL]$75M capital raise (in exchange for 16% ownership of the WNBA) specifically earmarked for marketing and branding; [*]Engelbert was a former NCAA WCBB student athlete at Lehigh and was coached by Muffet McGraw before becoming coach at Notre Dame; so the lack of empathy is weirdly glaring. [/LIST] &1 [URL='https://the-boneyard.com/threads/napheesa-has-her-say-on-wnba-leadership.209446/post-5343127']Sue’s podcast:[/URL] [LIST] [*][1] @2:33, @5:27: Ryan on Cri De Ceour women moments for effective change; [*][2] @3:55: Sue on Cri De Ceour women moments for effective change; [*][3] @7:53: Ryan “It will probably go a long way to help the conversation to just have some sort of public acknowledgement of ‘look, we’ve heard from so many of the biggest voices in our game express their feelings this year about the way game plays are unfolding, and we’re really going to give it a thorough review”; [*][4] @5:58: Ryan on Paige saying “I have to learn how to defend while fouling”; [*][5] @8:58: Sue: some of the refs for WCBB (less physicality) are the same for the WNBA, so it’s all about the mandate that is emphasized to the referees. [/LIST] &2 Referees who swallow their whistles are [URL='https://www.sbnation.com/2025/1/3/24330571/wnba-officiating-referees-womens-basketball-cheryl-reeve-liberty-lynx-caitlin-clark-monty-mccutchen#:~:text=However%2C%20refs%20will%20only%20face%20fines%20for%20making%20mistakes%20classified%20as%20%E2%80%9Cmisapplications%20of%20rules%E2%80%9D%20rather%20than%20typical%20blown%20calls.']not penalized[/URL]. The rewards-punishment system does look like [URL='https://www.sbnation.com/2025/1/3/24330571/wnba-officiating-referees-womens-basketball-cheryl-reeve-liberty-lynx-caitlin-clark-monty-mccutchen#:~:text=The%20myth%20of%20no%20accountability%20for%20referee%20mistakes']puny carrot, puny stick [/URL]that’s probably [I]also[/I] designed for bare minimum standards in a gig job where retention is a problem. [/QUOTE]

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