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Closing Bell

WNBPA President Sees Accessibility As Key To Growing Sport

The WNBA completed its season in its “wubble” in Florida and WNBPA President and Sparks F Nneka Ogwumike believes the progress the league and players have made since signing a new CBA in January can be built upon in the years to come. Speaking at the virtual SBJ Game Changes conference, she said, “It's not just about putting games out there for people to watch, for women in sport, especially WNBA, it's making it accessible. It's not making it difficult for people to find games, for people to find jerseys to buy and to engage in ways that they really need to.”

Wasserman Exec VP/Talent + The Collective Lindsay Kagawa Colas, who reps Ogwumike, said, "Merch sales in the WNBA were up over 300%. Everybody saw the orange hoodie. Everybody saw the Breonna Taylor shirt.” Kagawa Colas cited a Sue Bird “Slam” cover T-shirt as an example of interest in player-specific merchandise as well as the league’s power. She said, “Perhaps what's been under invested in, or frankly under believed in, were these women can move product. They need signature product, they need more licensed deals.”

Quick Hits:

*Ogwumike, on players wearing shirts supporting Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia senate race against Dream co-Owner Kelly Loeffler:
“That's just been a part of our identity for so long, but in a time where everything is on a platform and everyone is center stage, people were really, truly introduced or exposed at least, to just who WNBA players are and how we are as a unit and individually.

*Kagawa Colas, on the WNBA’s focus on diversity, representation and inclusion being of interest to businesses: 
“This is the time where, if you're a company that cares about these things, that feels like those are your values and you want to connect with the consumer that shares those values, this is the time to spend money with the WNBA.”

*Ogwumike, on negotiating the new CBA:
“That was such a surreal moment as we were looking face to face with them on a Zoom call, having these discussions, not knowing what the answer would be, still trembling while asking for our worth, but then for a league and those owners and the board of directors to align with us, I felt as though that was a moment where there was no stepping back behind that, no matter how the season ended."

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