WNBA Stars Still Drawn to Overseas Play Despite Griner's Arrest

NYT via Yahoo ^ | 8/25/22 | Tania Ganguli, Jonathan Abrams

[Libloather]

"Brittney, glad to have known ya, but we're movin' on. Lots of Benjamins out there..."

[HYPOCRACY]

Grinder could have made more playing in China or Greece as a dude. Just didn’t want to leave the country he hates.

[napscoordinator]

I don’t blame them. Going overseas is a wonderful experience and worthwhile. Just don’t be stupid.

[mewzilla]

So much for principle.

[mewzilla]

It used to be a wonderful experience.

[Rummyfan]

It's very simple. If you are going to play in a foreign country, don't take drugs into that country!

[stanne]

Didn’t she disrespect the Anthem (flag, constitution, country)?

[Rummyfan]

Yes she did.

[Bernard]

Does the NBA subsidize the foreign payrolls as well, or just the WNBA? You'd think professional athletes would rather have the league subsidize hookers, not girl basketball players.

Maybe the NBA Player's union should hire Hunter Biden as their negotiator. He could keep them focused on the important stuff.

[Rummyfan]

There is a bit of an undercurrent concerning Griner though, in that she had to go to Russia to supplement her low income here. As if women basketball players are underpaid as a result of discrimination. But the reality is, no one cares about women's basketball at the professional level here in the US. Are we the people supposed to pay these players?! No.

[stanne]

“ There is a bit of an undercurrent concerning Griner though, in that she had to go to Russia to supplement her low income here. As if women basketball players are underpaid as a result of discrimination…”

I’m not following this story.

So she hates the US -disrespects the flag because she can’t make a living wage because the us discriminates against her because she’s black?

[Pigsley]

What is comedy gold is that she know POTUS Trump would have sprung her long ago.....

[GreenHornet]

There is a bit of an undercurrent concerning Griner though, in that she had to go to Russia to supplement her low income here.

According to the article, the maximum salary for a WNBA player is $228,094. Brittney Griner was being paid just under that amount, so she wasn't struggling financially. You can live pretty comfortably here on that kind of salary. The media has made it sound as though she was just barely scrapping by, and had no choice but to go overseas to play basketball.

[stanne]

“ So she hates the US -disrespects the flag -because she can’t make a living wage because the us discriminates against her because she’s black?

Does she understand there are civil rights amendments, 3 of them, which protect rights of all citizens and that the flag represents these amendments?

Someone ought to send her a copy of the constitution. She can read it while she’s in jail

She could contemplate that people served, some fought, in the military to protect her rights

[Rummyfan]

Agreed. $228K is not a bad salary. It’s not NBA money - far from it. But the WNBA thinks it should be more on par with the NBA. Ha!

[stanne]

“ She could contemplate that people served, some fought, in the military to protect her rights”

People who have to struggle to make enough money.

[stanne]

Wait…$200+ Is what she’s making? What she is whining about?

“You can live pretty comfortably here on that kind of salary”

Hello.

[SamAdams76]

The WNBA is essentially a non-profit entity, averaging annual losses of $10m or more.

In addition to being subsidized by the NBA, it is also being propped up by philanthropists such as Michael Dell and the widow of Steve Jobs. I'm sure that the WNBA is a feel-good "charity" for them, as they are giving some girls a chance to make a living dribbling a basketball just like the men in the NBA.

The pay for players appears to be decent despite playing to mostly empty arenas and only meager viewership on TV. The minimum salary of a WNBA player is $60,000, it certainly beats working the perfume counter at Macys.

[devane617]

I’d rather watch paint dry than a second of wnba or nba.

[ealgeone]

Griner was making the league max of $227,000. That's a lot of dough for shooting hoops.

But remember, the wnba is subsidized by the nba. Why? It's terrible basketball to watch. And the low fan base is evidence of that.