
Juju Gotti talks with Trysta Krick and Sarah Chovnick of "Let Her Shoot" about the WNBA CBA, Emma Meesseman joining the Liberty, that Sophie Cunningham viral video about the W refs, and much more. Plus, an insider's view on that bag line at W's All-Star Week.
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Juju
Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila.
Cuervo
Cuervo.
Juju
What are you doing here?
Cuervo
Cuervo? Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.
Juju
Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners.
Cuervo
Sweet, delicious Cuervo.
Juju
Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.
Cuervo
Cuervo.
Juju
So enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo. Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.com Please drink responsibly.
Cuervo
Cuervo.
Sarah
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Trista
I want to know how can I become a WNBA referee? Is there a school I need to go to? I want to enroll. Do I got to do some high school games? Spent all star weekend with the illustrious Sarah and Trista. And I saw Sarah about to murder Trista umpteen times. Like te times. Look in her eyes.
Natasha
You. You saw it. I think it was the purse situation.
Kathy
The purse situation really got me that I was just out.
Natasha
I just peaced out.
Kathy
There was so many good moments. And so we get there and it's like, oh, yeah, by the way, you can't bring your purse in. And I'm trying to. They've got like this little envelope, wooden box, and I'm like trying to stuff it in. Just. And Juju's the best because he's like, just give me all the stuff out of the purse and I'll put it in my pockets. Then you can see I'm trying to finesse the security guard. And Sarah's like, it's not gonna work. It's not gonna work.
Natasha
It does not fit. It was too long. The math did not math for you to get it in there. Juju was humoring you and she's like.
Kathy
I'm out of here. We've already missed the skills challenge. Natasha Cloud's already won. I'm not trying to miss this three point challenge.
Trista
How about this 2025 brothers. Can we get something? A metal detector or something? That can see what's in bags because the line to protect your bag was unnecessary. We here for the skills competition. We here for the w. Of course we got purses, which. What do you mean? So I don't know, bro. They might have to get that together asap, bro.
Natasha
Especially if allstar Friday is only going to be an hour long because there we go. Talk about, you know, what are you going to do? We wasted half the time trying to get in the building.
Kathy
The line, which I cut.
Trista
Sneakily cut out of it.
Kathy
Cut the hell out of the line to try to get my purse back. That line was going to be longer to stand in than the skills competition was for the whole damn event.
Trista
Yep, yep. And I know that they want us to buy clear bags for the stadium. Get you a clear tote. Ain't nobody got time to go to Dick sporting goods to get a clear book bag for $30. Nah, bro. This is my Louie. It goes with my pants. The. Let's go. I'm here for the all star weekend. It don't fit in this box. Get out of my line, sir.
Natasha
I mean, I don't carry a purse, so I don't have this problem, but.
Kathy
When was the last time you carried a purse?
Trista
Good question. And, and by the way, Sarah had on the Della Don Washington Mystics jersey, so she was fresh with the J's, you feel me? Like, she was fresh as hell that day. So she didn't need a eccentric bag or nothing. And my sister was fresh, too. Green and white pants that went right with the purse.
Natasha
Come on, look at the memory on Juju.
Kathy
Juju's got style memory. He's got the style memory.
Trista
Kathy. Ms. Kathy, you're going to have to hold that l coming soon because these CBA negotiations are ramping up fast, and it's still not making a lot of sense to me for the players not to get at least some type of increase on this bag that y' all about to make $2.2 billion media rights deal starting next year. $250 million from the. The new expansion teams, all three of them, which is five times the amount that the Valkyrie had to pay. Excuse me. Pardon me. The Valkyries had to pay. You feel me? What do y' all think about these CBA negotiations? Let's start with Sarah. What's your thing, dog?
Natasha
I think. Do I. I don't really necessarily think that the players are going to get 50% of the revenue that they're asking for. I just don't think that the W.N.B.A. or the N.B.A. whoever's really, you know, in charge of these negotiations is going to give them that 50%. I think they got to hold strong though, at at least 30. I know TK thinks that they're going to get 50. I don't think they're going to get 50, but I do think that there.
Kathy
Has to way to just spoil my take.
Trista
Damn spoiler alert. T.K. she. I was like, who was T.K. oh yeah, my sister.
Natasha
Yeah. But I do think that there has to be an increase for at least the. For the minimums and the maximums because Caitlin Clark is out here making $78,000 a year. And you cannot tell me that there is a more underpaid employee of a company in the country.
Trista
Yeah, I mean, you might be looking at one, but neither here nor there. Trista, what about you? What you think?
Kathy
I think in general, the players did everything that you would want them to do to apply pressure.
Trista
Yeah.
Kathy
And I was talking about this earlier with an economist is, you know that. Excuse us, Southern Utah economist coming out on he check. He's. He's come on the show before. Only reason he didn't come on Let her shoot is because he's a man. So we gotta. We gotta have a Nefertiti. The woman who. That's her name. The woman who co wrote the book with them. That's her name. Y' all stop.
Natasha
Also the name of like an Egyptian.
Trista
Queen, I think, right? Is that middle name?
Kathy
The way I said it kind of makes it sound like I made the name up, but it's not. So.
Trista
Auntie named Nefer. Sorry, go ahead.
Kathy
Nefer, Auntie. So we were just talking about like how it normally goes overseas and when you are like all these different rules and guidelines that the WNBA and the NBA have in terms of how they pay their players, those don't exist. They're illegal overseas. So when you take into account how much WNBA players that play overseas are making, it's like around 70 to 80% of league revenue. So you're talking about like if we allow the owners to say we're really opening this up to free market and they want to win, these billionaires want to win, then they should be getting paid at least what the men's are getting paid. Now. Juju, you said that the rights deal was $2.2 billion, but actually that's just what the little, like little scraps that the NBA decided to give the WNBA, they got 78 billion. 78 billion. And they said, oh, well, we, you know, we think the WNBA rights we'll just give you. Because they basically packaged them together, hey, we'll do all this for 78. And then we decided to give the W2. The economist that I spoke to said that that rights deal should be really around 10 billion for the W, which means that the NBA is pocketing 8 billion. So you can't tell me that this is not a profitable situation for an NBA owner to be a part of, especially when you said you're getting all of the expansion fees putting into your pocket, and then when you sell a franchise, you're making a hell of a lot of money off of that as well. So. So you can't talk out of both sides of your mouth and say to the players, hey, we're losing all this money, and then say to the investors, hey, this is such a phenomenal investment. We know it was 50 million to. To invest in an expansion team, but now the price has gone up. 4x in a year. Cannot do that.
Trista
Caitlin Clark, Angel, Reese, Bruh. Every city they go to damn near is the. The ticket's gonna be boosted. The New York Liberty, how much were they bought for? How much are they worth now? How much were the Valkyries?
Kathy
450. $450 million. Now, I think Juju, next time we see, like, I think we need to be paying attention to the next time Adam Silver has a press conference, and we need to show up in our Sky Town jerseys and our Atlanta Dream jerseys, and we need to have media members who are down for the W and start asking those types of questions to Adam Silver about, like, hey, how are you guys getting 250 million for an expansion team? And. And you're telling us that you're losing 40 or maybe 50 million when back in the last time that you had this conversation, it was 10 million that you were losing. So how are the revenues going up, but also the losses going up?
Natasha
There's also just no way that they're losing that much money right now.
Kathy
No, there's not. That's what I'm trying to say is it's funny money math.
Natasha
The people who believe that are the people who have not watched a WNBA game. There's just no way. There's no way. You go to that arena that we were in this weekend, it's sold out tonight. It's sold out for the skills comp. And they're telling us they're losing money.
Trista
Right? These are valid questions that we got. They sold out the TD Garden for Aaliyah. Boston going back to Boston. You feel me? Like, bro, the math like you said Sarah. Math ain't math. Then welcome back to the alley. Oops. Hello? The Caitlin Clark. I'm sorry guys, we'll be right back.
Cuervo
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Trista
Hello? Angel Reese. Anytime. Anytime. Wrong number. Sorry. The season has started back though and we had some great games last night. But the New York Liberty versus the Fever game, I was watching it and I got some breaking damn news that I did not see coming.
Kathy
What is it?
Trista
The New York Liberty have signed Emma Missiman from Portugal. Spain. I forgot the team. She played for Belgium. Yeah, she played for Belgium. I just remember she get buckets in the Olympics. She got buckets. She's the the MVP right now of the tournament. They just had MV 2019 Finals MVP on the team with your girl Sarah. Elena Delladine with the mistakes. Come on man. What do y' all think that does for the Liberty? Does that make them the all out favorites right now? Start with you, Trista.
Kathy
Yeah, I mean that was who the Lynx were trying to go after and get and so that was like all the chatter was that Minnesota was going to go sign Emma Meesiman. That would have been a player that they could have really used and needed to add Emma Meesiman to going out and getting. Natasha Cloud is just two pieces that the Liberty truthfully did not need in order to be title contenders. Now you got jonquil all the way back like the seats on a Cadillac and she's looking unstoppable. It's gonna be tough to beat the Liberty.
Trista
Very tough. What about you, Sarah? What you think, sis?
Natasha
Yeah, I like the Liberty but I also like the links coming off this break. I like how he looked. I like the energy of the stud buds. You know, I just, I like the links but I do agree with Trista. It's going to be really hard to take down the Liberty this year.
Trista
Yeah, speaking of the stud buds, Natisha went down last night with an ankle injury. A little boo boo. Get well soon stud butter, my guy. Get well soon stud butter. Courtney had to play with the second team last night through the fourth quarter. So we know that they gonna be good. We. We know the links and they had to play the the sky for the Fifth time in July. What's going. I don't know what's going on right there. Get the schedule together. Kathy, moving on. The Sparks, they played the Mystics last night, Got the job done. Kelseno, she twisted her ankle. Kelsey Plum twisted her ankle, went to the sideline, told them folks, shoot me up, take me up, put me back in the game. Still had a phenomenal game. What y' all think about the Sparks getting healthy at the right time?
Kathy
Right now, I do not believe in them at all, Juju. Like, I just still can't do it. I mean, where is Cam Brink? Is she coming back?
Natasha
No.
Kathy
Is she coming back? No, not this year. Most likely. Like, we were. She was supposed to come back at the beginning. Like a month into the season. It's like, tick tock, tick tock. They're 9 and 13. It feels like this is a developmental team. Like, they've got pieces. They obviously have, you know, a lot of drama going on with what happened with Odyssey Sims. I still want to know why she was cut after putting up, you know, super buckets like, the night before and. And really what this team is doing. So I think I'm kind of like, wait and see on the Sparks. They're doing absolutely zero in terms of, like, contention or playoffs to me, but I'm happy that they're getting healthy.
Trista
Damn. Put that on the newspaper. Trista say absolutely zero when it comes to the Sparks. You hear that? Azeray Trista said that. You hear that? Rekia Trista said absolutely zero. You heard. Hear that, Ray Barrell? Absolutely. Sorry, Ray.
Kathy
We love you, Ray.
Natasha
We love you, Ray. Can't talk, by the way.
Kathy
By the. Yeah, don't be loving her now. You say she ain't making the playoffs.
Natasha
I. I didn't say it. She said it.
Kathy
I bet you Ray Burrell knows they're not going to the playoffs, by the way. Ray burrell. Ray burrell. 10 outfit changes before you leave the house is a crazy stat for her to say some. Sometimes it takes me five to 10 outfit changes before I leave the crib.
Trista
She got so much sauce.
Kathy
Too much.
Natasha
She also said that sometimes it's in the first outfit, so you got to give her that, too.
Trista
Come on, man. My sister Ray been balling, man. She. Last night, them Dallas Wings spanked that baby in Seattle. Without though they didn't have Scarlet Diggins, which is a big deal because, you know she will bite my nose off and spit it out and serve it to me on the plate and tell me to have a good game and so without Skylar Diggins, they got the job done. But the news from that game Mrs. Madam President Slam. Louisa Geisel sold her down by her throat, damn near. And got on top of her and told her how Duke and God damn it, like, stay and stay down. What do y' all think about the Seattle storm right now? What state are they in? Are they in the state to make a playoff push or have we seen the best of them this year?
Kathy
Yeah, I like Seattle. They're a sneaky contender if you bet on them. Right. Like I want to say, it was 25 to 1. I think when everybody's healthy, they're a team that you feel like has a lot of pieces. Gabby is playing some of the best basketball in her life. NECA is having a renaissance. Erica Wheeler is, you know, she didn't play well last night, but I feel like she's been a nice crucial piece for them. Lexi Brown has been okay for them. Ezzy's been okay for them. And then you add in, you know, Skylar Diggins having a career year as well, and that's, I think the reason that they ended up losing that game by 20 is you, you need those 20 points from Skyler on a night to night basis. You can't necessarily rely on some of the younger players. Like Ziya Cook had to step in. And like, I like Zaya Cook a lot, but she's just not Sky.
Trista
Yeah. And Tiffany Mitchell, too. She stepped up, but yeah, she said she had a long night, especially with Ari K becoming a rique in that second half last night. She stepped up. If you guys could change one thing, let's go three things and we're gonna go around Robin style about the wnba. What would you change? I'll start with myself because I want to get it out of the way. Referees.
Natasha
You took mine too.
Trista
Oh. But to see, that's why when you get to host the show, you get to steal from the people. Referees. Good Gosh, Moly. I want to know how can I become a WNBA referee? Is there a school I need to go to? I want to enroll.
Natasha
No.
Trista
Do I got to do some high school games? I want to start doing them because I don't see some atrocious calls throughout the last couple years. Not just this year, the last couple years, they don't have their stuff together, it seems like. What about y'? All? Well, since we all got that one, let's, let's elaborate on that one. Starting with you, Sarah.
Natasha
Yeah, I mean, I feel like the referees are just taking the spirit out of the game right now.
Trista
Yeah.
Natasha
Like, yeah, it feels like there's no consistency on calls. There's missed calls, there's over calls, there's wrong calls. It just makes it not fun. I don't like. And then you see things like Neca last night just getting fed up on things not being called, that they throw them down. We've seen that how many times? And I feel like that also just delivers the wrong narrative about the W because all together.
Trista
Yeah.
Kathy
Yeah, I agree with that. I think when every player in the league is saying, hey, these, like, I don't know if you guys saw the Sophie Cunningham video that she put up. She got fined for that.
Trista
She got fined 500 big ones.
Kathy
Like, where it was like, they could be dumb, they could be something, or they just could be clueless. And she. It was all about the WNBA refs. And I just think in general that the physicality should stay, but the bad refereeing needs to go. It's to the point where it's been this way for 20 years. Okay. We just need to pull some NBA refs over and then bring them to the W. And I know it's a different game, but it's. It. It actually is like an epidemic.
Trista
Yeah, it is, bruh. I'll be out there calling stuff for the. I'd be like, bro, travel. Call travel. Like, I. I understand the NBA barely calls travel sometimes, but it's WNBA sometimes. Hey, man, you got to call that travel, bro. Especially on game winners. Travel. Brianna Stewart. No, not the here nor there, but bruh, travel. What else would y' all change about the league?
Kathy
Oh, that's a good one. What else would I change? If you haven't watched the wnba.
Trista
Okay.
Kathy
Outside of the Caitlin Clark year.
Trista
Yeah.
Kathy
You can't tweet about Caitlin Clark or anything. Like, you can ask questions like, hey, like grok. Like, hey, explain this to me. Like, tell me about why Ryan Howard is so dope or tell me about what's poppin with Arie McDonald, but like, you can't give your own opinion on a league you don't know anything about, especially about a player that's the only player you know anything about.
Trista
I like that.
Natasha
If I had to change something about the W, I think I'm changing the schedule because I want to watch multiple games in one day, and I don't want to have to do it on four different screens at one time.
Trista
Right, right, right.
Natasha
Maybe let's.
Trista
Exactly.
Natasha
Maybe let's try moving them around a little bit.
Kathy
Oh, I like the schedule change. That's A good one. That's a good one. That's a good one.
Trista
Exactly. Especially you gotta watch it on the Ion channel. Salute to Ion salute to Hawaii 5. Oh, that's up next. Always. But come on, bro. What you about to say, Trish?
Kathy
Oh, I was just gonna say if you have a WNBA franchise.
Trista
Yeah.
Kathy
Then it's not really a rule change. It's a change to the fundamental system. If you own a WNBA franchise, that practice facility needs to be on par with the men's game. You can't have them practicing in a rec center. We can't. If there's. If Joey from. From like, like the north side of Chicago can watch Angel Reese, Bayonne and from Bayonne in the layup line, like, we. I'm sorry, you gotta. You either need to build that right now or you need to sell the team.
Trista
Where can everybody check out y' all podcast right now today? As after you listen to this, go check them out right damn now. Tell them where y'. All.
Kathy
Yeah, our podcast, this episode was super dope. We talked about the party that me, Juju and Sarah were at. The paisy party, the Az Fudd podcast release party. Our podcast is also on Iheart called Letter Shoot. It's wherever you get your podcast. It's on Apple, it's on Spotify. We talked about the stream of consciousness of our. Of our whole weekend. Sarah had to do a lot of surgery on it because we were all over the place. But we give you the details, sprinkle in a little of tea every Tuesday. We also have. We also have a special interview next week on Tuesday. We already pre recorded it. It was fire. We with Joy Taylor. First. First interview. Sense all the dust up. That's my girl. She dropped some gems. I know, I know. Juju's going to be up in there listening.
Trista
What? Get Joy Taylor. Come on now. The whole world want to know how she feel right now. She just tell you. We'll tell you what a get. I'm locked in. I know. I'm tuning in. Any last words? Sarah, what you got, bro? You gonna give up the hoodie secrets or what?
Natasha
Well, I think this is. I think this is under armour.
Trista
Okay. Salute to Steph.
Natasha
You know, Juju, I just want to say thank you for hanging out with us this weekend and being the beacon at the Az Fudd party that I could find since really?
Kathy
Like, really? Juju is the tallest guy in there and it's like, where's Juju? Oh, there he is. We're good. Everything's good. What was It. It was tequila.
Trista
And.
Kathy
And something cranberry. Cranberry. Something red.
Trista
You know, man, I had, like six of them guys that night. I feel like almost. And I still was able to.
Natasha
They were big. I was gonna say I saw Jude. I saw Jew in the. Live in the lobby at, like, 5, and he had a. A case of water. Like, 24. 24. Pack of water.
Trista
Take advantage of that. Uber eats. They will deliver you a pack of water. Neither.
Kathy
Cheaper than one. Cheaper than one bottle in the hotel.
Trista
Right? Thank y' all so much for pulling up on me on the alley. Oh, man, thank you for behind the scenes, Ms. Rebecca and my dog Dylan. The most handsome man in the entire world, man. Catch us next week. Catch us next time. Same bat time. Same.
Kathy
Same bat channel.
Trista
Ooh, ooh.
Natasha
Oh, there's a hand signal, too.
Kathy
Aha.
Juju
Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequil. What are you doing here, Cuervo?
Cuervo
Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.
Juju
Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners.
Cuervo
Sweet, delicious Cuervo.
Juju
Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.
Cuervo
Cuervo.
Juju
So enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo.
Cuervo
Cuervo.
Juju
The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.
Trista
Com.
Juju
Please drink responsibly.
Cuervo
Cuervo.
Jerbear
Hey, friends, it's Jerbear here, and I'm here to tell you all about Boost Mobile, which is now a legit nationwide 5G network. So I must take a break from the jokes here for a second and put on my serious voice, because I would never, ever joke about a 5G network that has invested billions building 5G towers across the country. Not even once. Not even if Mr. Boost Mobile himself asked me to. There is nothing funny about it. Boost Mobile is now a legit nationwide 5G network and also provides coverage across 99% of America. Seriously? Visit boostmobile.com or your nearest Boost Mobile store location to learn more. The Boost Mobile network, together with our roaming partners, covers 99% of the US population. 5G speeds not available in all areas.
Podcast Summary: "ALLEY OOP (Ep 12): The WNBA CBA Debacle and Will the Liberty Take It All w/ Trysta & Sarah"
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz returns with Episode 12, titled "ALLEY OOP", released on July 28, 2025. Hosted by Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, alongside guests Trysta and Sarah, this episode dives deep into the tumultuous landscape of the WNBA, focusing on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations, salary disparities, team dynamics, and the potential dominance of the New York Liberty. The discussion is enriched with personal anecdotes, insightful analysis, and lively banter, making it both informative and entertaining for listeners.
The episode opens with Trysta and Sarah recounting their experiences during the WNBA All-Star Weekend. They humorously detail the frustrations and absurdities of security protocols, particularly the enforcement of purse restrictions.
Trysta shares an animated account:
"I'm trying to stuff my purse in this little envelope, and Juju's helping by putting everything in his pockets while Sarah warns, 'It's not gonna work.'" (02:12)
Kathy emphasizes the inconvenience:
"We've already missed the skills challenge. Natasha Cloud's already won. I'm not trying to miss this three-point challenge." (02:30)
The narrative highlights the tension between fans wanting to enjoy the events and the stringent security measures that often hinder their experience.
Transitioning to the core topic, Trysta and the panel delve into the ongoing CBA negotiations within the WNBA, expressing skepticism about the league’s commitment to fair player compensation.
Trysta raises critical questions:
"These CBA negotiations are ramping up fast, and it's still not making a lot of sense to me for the players not to get at least some type of increase on this bag that y'all are about to make a $2.2 billion media rights deal starting next year." (04:12)
Natasha provides a candid assessment:
"I think they got to hold strong though, at least 30. I know TK thinks that they're going to get 50. I don't think they're going to get 50, but I do think that there has to be an increase for at least the minimums and the maximums." (04:52)
Kathy challenges the league's financial narrative:
"They got 78 billion. And they said, oh, well, we think the WNBA rights we'll just give you... another [source]... So you can't talk out of both sides of your mouth and say to the players, hey, we're losing all this money, and then say to the investors, hey, this is such a phenomenal investment." (07:27)
The discussion underscores the disparity between the league's reported revenues and the ongoing financial struggles of WNBA players, advocating for transparent and equitable negotiations.
Focusing on specific teams, the conversation shifts to the New York Liberty's recent acquisitions and their implications for the league's competitive landscape.
Trysta announces a significant signing:
"The New York Liberty have signed Emma Missiman from Portugal. Spain. I forgot the team. She played for Belgium. Yeah, she played for Belgium." (11:09)
Kathy analyzes the impact:
"Emma Meisiman to going out and getting... Natasha Cloud is just two pieces that the Liberty truthfully did not need in order to be title contenders. Now you got Jonquil all the way back like the seats on a Cadillac and she's looking unstoppable. It's gonna be tough to beat the Liberty." (11:37)
Natasha concurs, highlighting team synergy:
"I like how he looked. I like the energy of the stud buds... it's going to be really hard to take down the Liberty this year." (12:23)
The panel agrees that the Liberty's strategic signings, combined with emerging talents, position them as formidable contenders in the WNBA.
Shifting focus to other teams, the hosts discuss the Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks, touching upon player performances, injuries, and team prospects.
Kathy expresses cautious optimism for Seattle:
"They're a sneaky contender if you bet on them... Gabby is playing some of the best basketball in her life... Skylar Diggins having a career year as well." (16:06)
Trysta comments on the Sparks' struggles:
"Where is Cam Brink? Is she coming back? No, not this year... It feels like this is a developmental team." (13:29)
Kathy criticizes the Sparks' management decisions:
"They have drama with Odyssey Sims... So I think I'm kind of like, wait and see on the Sparks. They're doing absolutely zero in terms of contention or playoffs to me." (13:40)
The analysis highlights the contrasting fortunes of these teams, emphasizing the importance of player health and effective management in shaping their seasons.
A significant portion of the discussion critiques the quality and consistency of officiating in the WNBA, which the hosts argue detracts from the game's integrity and enjoyment.
Trysta voices a common frustration:
"Referees... I want to know how can I become a WNBA referee? Is there a school I need to go to? I want to enroll." (17:33)
Natasha elaborates on the issue:
"It feels like there's no consistency on calls. There's missed calls, there's overcalls, there's wrong calls. It just makes it not fun." (18:13)
Kathy provides concrete examples:
"Like, you can ask questions like, hey, like grok. Like, hey, explain this to me. Like, tell me about why Ryan Howard is so dope or tell me about what's poppin with Arie McDonald, but like, you can't give your own opinion on a league you don't know anything about." (20:12)
The hosts advocate for improved training and perhaps the integration of NBA referees to enhance the consistency and fairness of officiating in the league.
Looking ahead, the panel discusses potential reforms and enhancements to the WNBA to ensure its growth and competitiveness.
Kathy suggests infrastructural investments:
"If you own a WNBA franchise, that practice facility needs to be on par with the men's game. You can't have them practicing in a rec center." (21:25)
Natasha discusses scheduling improvements:
"I want to watch multiple games in one day, and I don't want to have to do it on four different screens at one time." (20:42)
Trysta emphasizes the need for organizational support:
"They need to pull some NBA refs over and then bring them to the W." (19:04)
These insights point towards a consensus that both structural and procedural changes are essential for elevating the WNBA's status and ensuring its long-term success.
The episode concludes with the hosts promoting their own podcast, Letter Shoot, available on platforms like iHeart, Apple, and Spotify. They tease upcoming interviews and express gratitude towards their listeners, ensuring a personal and engaging wrap-up.
Notable Quotes:
Trysta:
"Right now, I do not believe in them at all, Juju." (13:29)
Kathy:
"Math ain't math." (09:43)
Natasha:
"There's just no way that they're losing that much money right now." (09:21)
Trysta:
"Damn spoiler alert." (05:19)
Conclusion:
Episode 12 of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz offers a comprehensive and spirited examination of the current state of the WNBA. Through candid discussions, personal anecdotes, and critical analysis, Trysta and Sarah shed light on the challenges and opportunities facing the league. From CBA negotiations and team strategies to officiating standards and structural reforms, the episode serves as both a passionate supporter and a constructive critic of the WNBA's trajectory. Listeners gain valuable insights into the complexities of professional women's basketball, making this episode a must-listen for sports enthusiasts and advocates alike.