The WNBA All-Stars were united in their demands for better wages at Saturday’s All-Star game, or so it appeared.

As Los Angeles Sparks guard and union vice president Kelsey Plum told reporters at a post-game press conference, only half the All-Stars were involved in the surprise decision to wear warmup t-shirts reading ‘Pay Us What you Owe Us’ on Saturday in Indianapolis.

‘The T-shirt was determined this morning,’ Plum said alongside New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu.

This year’s All-Stars were divided between two teams drafted by captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier. And according to Plum, it was Collier’s team that made the decision to wear the controversial t-shirts.

‘Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,’ Plum laughed.

Ionescu, a member of Team Clark, laughed as well before adding: ‘That really needed to be mentioned.’

‘I’m trying to make the situation light, OK,’ Plum responded.

‘I think it was just all of us getting on the page before the game and we wanted to do something that was just united and collective. I thought that was a vert powerful moment and it got the point across. And sometimes, you don’t have to say anything.’

The WNBA has traditionally lost money and was $40 million in the red last season. However, a new media deal crafted after last year’s record-breaking success is set to begin in 2026 and will generate $200 million annually – a $143 million increase.

And with a looming labor battle, the union hopes to see the bulk of those profits go to players rather than team owners. Players and the WNBA failed to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement at meeting on Thursday after the union opted out of the current CBA back in October.

‘We get a very tiny percentage of all the money that’s made through the WNBA, which obviously is made through the entertainment we provide,’ Collier told reporters about the decision to wear the t-shirts. ‘So we want a fair and reasonable percentage of that.’

Collier, Anbgel Reese and others have discussed the possibility of a labor stoppage if the two sides can’t reach an agreement by October.

Fans appear to be siding with players, judging by post-game reactions in Indianapolis, where chants of ‘pay them!’ could be heard at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as commissioner Cathy Engelbert was making post-game announcements.

‘As players, we didn’t know that that was going to happen,’ Plum said. ‘It was a genuine surprise.’

‘We had no idea that they were in solidarity with our demonstration,’ said Nneka Ogwumike, president of the WNBPA. ‘I´ve been hearing it all weekend at the fan events, supporting us and wanting us to get our fair share of the value.’