WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike shared her views on the status of the WNBA CBA negotiations. On Sue Bird’s “Bird Eye View” on Thursday, the Seattle Storm star rejected NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s perspective on the brutal nature of the negotiations.Commissioner Silver expressed optimism on Monday at NBC Sports headquarters that a new agreement will be reached. He acknowledged that the issues aren’t purely about money, asserting that there are “relationship issues” that need attention from the league’s leadership and the players.“I disagree that it’s personal,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “We’ve been saying this from the beginning. I think maybe since opt-out, it’s business. That’s the mantra that’s being imparted upon us from the league.”“I think you can take it personally, if you perhaps, you know naturally in negotiations you don’t like what’s being said,” Ogwumike added. “It feels personal at times, but it’s business at the end of the day.”The current WNBA CBA was signed in 2020 and was originally set to run through 2027. However, in October 2024, the WNBPA exercised its opt-out clause, moving up the expiration to Oct. 31. Currently, there is no guarantee of a new agreement, and the possibility of a lockout or work stoppage is on the table.A flashpoint has been the relationship and trust between players and leadership. Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier delivered a scathing critique of Commissioner Engelbert after the Lynx’s playoff exit, calling the league’s leadership “the worst in the world.” She claimed that in a prior conversation, Engelbert said that Caitlin Clark should be grateful to the WNBA for her off-court deals.Nneka Ogwumike on CBA stalemate as deadline approachesNneka Ogwumike spoke to the Democratic Women Caucus on Sept. 10. During the call she addressed the stalemate between the WNBA’s leadership and its players’ union as the Oct. 31 deadline approaches.“We are negotiating with a league and at least seven, and who knows, maybe all 13 teams that seem unwilling to share in the growth that we are driving that … our labor produces,” Nneka Ogwumike said.“They know the business is doing well and will continue to do well, and yet they want to have it both ways and claim that sharing league and team revenue is not possible right now. How? How can that really be?”It was reported that 85 members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and the U.S. House Democratic Caucus signed a letter to the league. They urged it to carry out their negotiations promptly, taking into account the interests of all parties involved.