Megan Rapinoe says ‘go for the jugular’ as WNBA players opt out of employment deal

NEW YORK – Retired football great Megan Rapinoe has advised Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players to “go for the jugular”, after they announced they would opt out of their collective bargaining agreement this week on the heels of a blockbuster season.

The WNBA saw record viewership and attendances in 2024 and in July inked a television deal worth a reported US$200 million (S$263.9 million) per season.

The previous pay and conditions agreement was set to run through 2027 and players and the league will instead renegotiate after the 2025 season.

“My initial thought is ‘go for the jugular’, always,” Rapinoe said on Oct 24. “Really having your sights set on the future because they obviously are opting out early for a reason... it’s already totally obsolete.”

The two-time World Cup winner was the public face of the pay-equity fight in sport in the US when she and her national teammates sued the United States Soccer Federation demanding better pay and playing conditions in 2019.

She pointed to the surge in interest in the WNBA – spurred on by a star-studded rookie class that includes Caitlin Clark – as reason to “go really big”.

“This is sort of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” insisted Rapinoe.

The Olympic gold medallist retired in 2023 and has set about charting her own course through business with partner Sue Bird, the five-time Olympic gold medallist who earned a record 13 All-Star inclusions during her WNBA career.

The couple have been at the forefront of women’s sport in the US, with Bird having joined the WNBA just five years after it launched and Rapinoe having played almost her whole career in the National Women’s Soccer League after joining the league in its inaugural season.

“The excitement is there, the fandom is there,” added Rapinoe.

“It’s a real testament to all the work the players have done and the larger business around it, but also this is a real shift in the business of women’s sports.”

Bird, who is in the ownership group for the Seattle Storm, has called on WNBA team owners to become more politically active, after the Storm endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris in the upcoming US presidential election.

While athlete activism is nothing new, a team publicly endorsing a political candidate is extraordinarily rare in America, and Bird said she wants others to follow the team’s lead.

“We are advocates for equality and opportunity,” the Storm said in their endorsement on Oct 23.

Bird, who spent her entire career with the Storm, added: “There’s been this saying of ‘Shut up and dribble’, like athletes shouldn’t be talking about things, or maybe franchises and ownership groups shouldn’t talk about things.

“But the reality is, I think, for women, if we’re not talking about these things how are you going to hear about them?” REUTERS