Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="TheFarmFan, post: 3221936, member: 9403"] Speaking of not thinking things through without all the facts, you're aware that the league is about to renegotiate its CBA with the players, right? And you're aware that benefits is one question that will be front and center, right? And that one negotiable item could be coverage for behavior and mental health for players (and their spouses/domestic partners) who are signed to league contracts even when they are playing overseas, right? And that providing the players with information and training about how to use mental health resources could become a standard part of their entry into the league and a right/requirement of the league under the CBA, right? Yes, I'm aware it won't be free. But if I were the league, I'd shift some expenses in that direction [I]over just about any other additional costs[/I], because if it would help prevent even one Howard or Williams type incident, I'd say the policy would pay for itself. The situations with Howard, Williams, and Griner/Johnson are (figuratively and perhaps literally) black eyes for the league. That is NOT the way the WNBA wants to make headlines on ESPN. It's a terrible look for the league, and makes it easy to write off the product. If you wonder why few young women follow the WNBA, well, I'm pretty sure recurring and poorly handled domestic abuse against women isn't going to draw them in. And I suspect the situations with players like Howard, Williams, and Griner/Johnson might not have escalated as they did if they knew, were aware of, and had access to, a therapist or behavioral health professional that they could speak to to help deescalate things. Players have those resources in college, so why not ensure they are aware of, and able to access them, in the pros? It's ridiculous that Howard's wife's only recourse was to try to text with the President & GM of the Storm Alisha Valavanis. Valvanis is not trained or equipped to handle it, it's way outside her purview, and her conflicts of interest are so abundant. And the text exchange did not end with "we have counseling and behavioral health resources for you - contact X to access them." There has to be a better way forward. ETA: depending on whether the league's benefits management is pooled with the NBA, it might not actually be all that costly to include WNBA players under similar policies/coverage. I looked over [URL='https://wnbpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/WNBA-CBA-2014-2021Final.pdf']the last CBA[/URL] and don't see any mention of mental and behavioral health, and a simple $75k catch-all "Player Programs Fund" that includes education about substance abuse (on page 91). No mention about domestic violence, maintaining mental health and wellbeing while overseas, etc. Tl;dr: There's a lot more the league could be doing and it doesn't all have to cost a fortune. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,434

Messages: 4,396,221

Members: 10,209

Latest member: gemini*trvl