Collier denies conflict in the WNBA over Unrivaled: “There are no interests”

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The vice president of the WNBA Basketball Players Association and co-founder of Unrivaled, Napheesa Collier, used social media on Saturday afternoon to defend her role in both leagues. This occurred after a viral accusation that suggested a conflict of interest between her and Breanna Stewart.

So, just to be clear… While everyone else was enjoying the fireworks, you were thinking about how Stewie and I, of all people, are conspiring to force a lockout that would result in less money throughout the year for the WNBA players?

Napheesa Collier
The post Collier responded to implied that Collier and Stewart, also president of the WNBPA and co-founder of Unrivaled, would not be able to negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) “in good faith” due to the economic benefits they would receive if the WNBA entered a lockout.
In March, Collier stated that “nobody wants” a lockout, but that the players are “prepared for any possibility at this time”. Recently, several players, including Stewart, have expressed their frustration with the direction of the negotiations. Stewart stated that she felt “absolutely frustrated” after a training session on July 3rd.

Any time you go back and forth, you don’t expect to hear that ‘yes’ on the first [proposal], but you expect to have a conversation. They just ignored everything we said.

Breanna Stewart
Both Collier and Stewart have denied that their work in Unrivaled and the WNBPA creates a conflict of interest, arguing that, instead, it helps to highlight areas that need improvement. Stewart explained that Unrivaled has set a standard in terms of television deals and public attention, which they hope to replicate in the WNBA. Unrivaled offered its athletes an average salary of $220,000, childcare, and a multi-year television deal. The players also received shares in the league. Collier emphasized that the creation of Unrivaled, which began in January, was not scheduled to coincide with CBA negotiations. In her opinion, Unrivaled benefits all players, not just those directly involved in the league, and that this is a complement to the work of the players’ association. Collier concluded that he did not understand the idea of a conflict of interest, arguing that Unrivaled is helping to increase the income of all players.
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