WNBA Works Out Deal: Season to Begin July 24
As we continue to wind through the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects that it has had on professional and collegiate sports in North America, the swath of destruction is staggering. There was no March Madness for men’s or women’s college basketball this season and that was just the start of things. The NBA and NHL have been paused for three months with their impending returns coming late next month. MLB saw its Opening Day postponed and there still is no clear-cut schedule or potential plan to get back to playing. NASCAR, the PGA Tour and UFC have all returned in the past month or so to action, giving fans at least something to tune in to on television.
One league that was sort of lost in the shuffle of all this was the WNBA. That league usually starts in May and runs through the summer before crowning a champion. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, its season was delayed but we finally have some information about what is going on with the league along with Elena Delle Donne and the defending champion Washington Mystics.
It was announced Monday that the league is prepared to rock and roll with their schedule getting underway on July 24. Instead of a normal 34 to 36-game schedule, it will be a 22-game schedule followed by the regular playoff format. The location for the league’s return to play is going to be the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. It will be the home site for the entirety of league business, from training camps to actual game action to the housing of the players and coaching staffs for the duration of the season.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert had the following to say in her league statement about the league’s 2020-21 season:
“We are finalizing a season start plan to build on the tremendous momentum generated in the league during the offseason and have used the guiding principles of health and safety of players and essential staff to establish necessary and extensive protocols. We will continue to consult with medical experts and public health officials as well as players, team owners and other stakeholders as we move forward with our execution plan. And, despite the disruption caused by the global pandemic to our 2020 season, the WNBA and its Board of Governors believe strongly in supporting and valuing the elite women athletes who play in the WNBA and therefore, players will receive their full pay and benefits during the 2020 season.”
The decision to give players full pay and benefits despite playing about 65 percent of their regular schedule is likely to have reverberations around the sports world. Major League Baseball has been in a war of attrition with the MLBPA about what percentage of salaries players would receive in a shortened season. That has led to the league being stuck in limbo. On the plus side, the WNBA will have plenty of opportunity to be televised in front of a sports-starved public with their deals with ESPN, CBS Sports Network and NBA TV. All said, the league hammered out a deal that the players signed off on and is ready to get back to action. It’s something that other sports could take notes on in order to set themselves up for success.
Seeing that the WNBA is coming back, will you be tuning in to catch the action?
