WNBPA rebuilding trust with WNBA after player harassment talks
Nneka Ogwumike said WNBA players and league leaders must build trust after a 90-minute meeting on harassment and safety.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
WNBPA rebuilding trust with the WNBA has become a front-burner issue after union leaders and league officials held a 90-minute meeting about racist, hateful and abusive messages aimed at players, according to ESPN.
Nneka Ogwumike, the Los Angeles Sparks star and president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, spoke Friday in Chicago before practice for the WNBA All-Star Game. She said the league and players need stronger relationships before the next crisis lands.
The WNBPA is the union representing WNBA players in labor and workplace matters. Its leadership has been pushing the league on player safety, harassment, officiating and related concerns, ESPN reported.
According to ESPN, members of the union’s executive committee and its Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee asked last month for a call with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. That meeting took place Tuesday and ran for an hour and a half.
What did Nneka Ogwumike say about WNBA player safety?
Ogwumike said players do not always have immediate answers during a crisis, but trust helps close the gap when people are trying to respond. She said conversations between the league and players should happen during calm periods too, not only when trouble breaks out.
Ogwumike, who ESPN said was recently elected to a fourth term as WNBPA president, said she came away from the meeting feeling hopeful. She also said Engelbert was open to hearing what players had to say.
The meeting came after a tense stretch between the union and the league. ESPN reported that recent labor talks became heated in the offseason before producing a historic collective bargaining agreement.
Player harassment remains a sharp concern. ESPN reported that several WNBA players have said in recent weeks that they received racial slurs and death threats.
Ogwumike described the league’s rapid growth as painful at times and said players are asking for action when the same problems keep showing up. Her point, as reported by ESPN, was that growth alone cannot excuse problems that continue to hurt players.
What is the league doing about abuse toward WNBA players?
ESPN reported that the WNBA previously launched a “No Space For Hate” platform before the 2025 season. The effort was described as a multi-part program meant to fight hate and encourage respect in WNBA spaces.
Ogwumike said she did not have a single answer for what should happen next. She said accountability has to be part of the response if players are going to feel safer and better protected, according to ESPN.
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson also pressed league leadership to act sooner, Ogwumike said. According to Ogwumike’s account to ESPN, Jackson told league officials that the WNBA must stay ahead of its growth rather than wait for new problems to fully arrive.
Ogwumike said Engelbert understood that point. She said the league may need measures that address problems it has not seen before, if it wants to keep pace with its own rise.
Asked whether Engelbert should stay on as commissioner after this season, Ogwumike said the decision was not hers, ESPN reported. She added that players are prepared to work with whoever is in league leadership.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.