The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
They’ve got next
WNBA announces return-to-play plans for 2020 season
The WNBA is back. After months of uncertainty caused by COVID-19, the league announced Monday its plans to play a 22-game regular season beginning in late July. The league is still finalizing a partnership with IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., to serve as the host site for all games, including the playoffs.
The postseason will follow a traditional format — single-elimination first- and second-round games and best-of-five semifinals and finals — and will conclude in October.
Terri Jackson, executive director of the WNBA Players Association, told ESPN that 77-percent of players voted in favor of the proposal this past weekend, which calls for them to earn 100 percent of their salaries, plus full benefits.
Under the agreement, players have until June 25 to notify their teams if they will play this season. According to the Associated Press, players who are considered high-risk for the coronavirus may opt out and still be paid in full.
“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,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “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.”
The regular reason was supposed to tip off May 15, with training camps slated to open a month prior, but both were postponed. The league still held its draft on April 17, albeit in a virtual format.
The current plan calls for teams to report to IMG Academy in early July for training camp, although an exact date wasn’t given. The regular season — reduced from 36 games — could tip off as soon as July 24, according to the AP. As expected, games will be played without fans in attendance to mitigate the spread of the virus. Matchups and times have yet to be released.
The league also announced it will “build on its commitment to social justice and will support players in launching a bold social justice platform as a call to action to drive impactful, measurable and meaningful change” amid the national conversation on racial injustice and police brutality. The WNBA recently said it will make donations from sales of its “Bigger Than Ball” women’s empowerment merchandise to the Equal Justice Initiative.
“In our discussions with the league, we emphasized and they agreed that a strong commitment to a 2020 season will give the WNBA the chance to show the world that it's taking the steps needed to secure our livelihood and wellbeing, while also providing the opportunity to amplify our collective voice,” WNBAPA President and Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement. “We have always been at the forefront of initiatives with strong support of #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, the LGBTQ+ community, gun control, voting rights, #MeToo, mental health and the list goes on. This is not only necessary from a humanitarian perspective, but it may be one of the biggest opportunities that this league has and will ever have.”
“The WNBA opposes racism in all its forms, and George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are the latest names in a list of countless others who have been subject to police brutality that stems from the systemic oppression of Black Lives in America, and it is our collective responsibility to use our platforms to enact change,” said Engelbert.