The WNBA All-Star Game provided a much-needed platform for the best players in the league to make a statement about ongoing CBA discussions. The players put that message on a t-shirt with a simple message: "Pay Us What You Owe Us". That then sparked an impromptu chant from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd in Indianapolis, "Pay them!" Caitlin Clark, the polarizing face of the league in her second season, was among the players wearing the shirt, which LA Sparks guard Kelsey Plum helped organize to make the statement.
However, Plum definitely should've held back when she was revealing the details of how the shirt and the unified statement from the WNBA players came about.
In her postgame media availability, Plum explained how the shirts came about, and noted that the crowd chanting was obviously an unplanned surprise that only amplified the impact of the moment in Indianapolis. But she didn't stop there, making sure to take a not-so-thinly-veiled shot at Clark.
"It was a very powerful moment. As players, we didn't know that that was going to happen. It was a genuine surprise. The t-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale — zero members of Team Clark were very present for that"
KP: "It was a very powerful moment. As players, we didn't know that that was going to happen. It was a genuine surprise. The t shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale: 0 members of Team Clark were very present for that" https://t.co/2fXgaAuqMR pic.twitter.com/awIfnqLjxv
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) July 20, 2025
To be clear, it would definitely have been good for Clark or a member of Team Clark to be at the meeting. Having said that, Plum pointing that out while also looking at the logistics of the situation seems counterproductive to the message that was being sent to the league.
Kelsey Plum defeats purpose of statement with shot at Caitlin Clark
Also in her postgame media availability, Plum noted that what made the moment and the "Pay Us" statement so impactful and meaningful was that everyone was in it together. She added, via ESPN, "Those chants tonight, those signs, it just shows that as players, we are united, but the fans are united in believing what we're seeking."
That sounds great, but how is Plum or anyone going to talk about being unified among the players while in literally the same press conference making a statement that is divisive? Saying that Clark or any member of Team Clark wasn't present for the players' meeting where the t-shirt idea was contrived covers what she's saying in hypocrisy. You're not fully united if you feel compelled to point out that certain people weren't involved in planning the statement at the All-Star Game.
Beyond that, let's just think about the logistics of what we're talking about. ESPN reported that the meeting to plan the t-shirts for the All-Star Game to send a message to the league was relatively impromptu. They met on Saturday morning, the morning of the game itself, and the plan came to fruition. If that's the case, though, and Plum and Napheesa Collier were leading the charge, wouldn't it make sense if Team Clark, the entirely different team on All-Star weekend, wasn't there?
Let's be clear, maybe there is context missing here. However, it's been true for the past year and a half that the popularity of The W has exponentially increased because of Clark's arrival. She's a star that fans have gravitated toward. That doesn't diminish the groundwork that players like Plum and many others laid years before Clark came out of Iowa as the No. 1 overall pick to make having such a WNBA star at this level of notoriety possible, not by a longshot. So as the players fight for more money, Clark is one of the central figures in why it's possible for players to demand more from the $2.2 billion media rights deal that the league is signed on for.
So, if the players are actually supposed to be united in this, taking a shot at Clark or Team Clark or anyone doesn't make sense. Someone can't preach unity and then make divisive comments.
WNBA players absolutely deserve a salary structure that is more in line with the growing popularity of the league. And the message was quite clearly sent at the All-Star Game with what Plum and others devised. Having said that, they might want to get everyone on the same page from here on out if they actually want to accomplish their goals in this endeavor, and not tear one another down senselessly.