Sue Bird on the WNBA's Plan for the 2020 Season

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2020

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After winning three WNBA championships, two NCAA championships, and four Olympic gold medals, Sue Bird has seen it all in basketball. But. as she gets ready for her 19th season in the WNBA, Bird and the rest of the league are preparing for a season unlike any ever played before. After delaying opening tip-off by more than two months, the WNBA is combating the coronavirus pandemic by playing the 2020 season at a "clean site" in Bradenton, FL. Add that to the increased focus by players on social justice causes and a new CBA signed this offseason, and it's no wonder why this is shaping up to be a historic year for the WNBA. The Seattle Storm guard joins the show to discuss how the league and its players came to an agreement, the impact of their new CBA, and how the WNBA has evolved over the course of her epic career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Stewart couldn't finish no foul. Howard keeps it alive. Bird connects. It's Sue Byrd's building.
0:13.5	There are a few athletes alive, more decorated than Sue Bird. The Seattle Storm Guard has won three WNBA
0:20.2	championships, four Olympic gold medals,
0:22.6	two NCAA titles, and four FIBA World Cups. And she's not done yet. This July,
0:29.4	Bird will fly to break into Florida when the WNBA begins its 22-game regular season, more than two
0:35.7	months after its original start date in May.
0:39.0	Today, Bird discusses the WNBA's plan for a clean site,
0:43.6	why some stars have opted out to focus on social justice causes,
0:46.7	and what she expects from a season unlike any other.
0:52.0	I'm Meena Kimes. It's Monday, June 29th. This is ESPN Daily, presented by Marathon.
1:04.7	Hi, Sue. Hi, how's it going? It's good. So, Sue, the players have voted the WMBA is officially kicking
1:13.0	off the 2020 season in late July at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. How are you feeling about
1:18.9	all of this, about basketball being played in 2020? You know, I'm not going to lie, it's kind of
1:24.1	mixed emotions.
1:32.1	You know, I think when it comes to just simply playing basketball, that's an easy answer.
1:38.3	There's something about it that, you know, we'll give all of us, I don't know, a sense of purpose.
1:39.6	We love to play.
1:42.7	We'll be able to do great things for the W&BA in this bubble.
1:49.9	But then obviously with what's going on, whether it's, you and safety pandemic wise whether it's social justice wise just a lot to kind of process through I do plan on going so that's not that's not really what I'm trying to announce
1:55.8	or anything like that but uh it's still like as the date approaches you know it's still a lot going on
2:00.6	I think,
2:00.9	in everybody's head.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from ESPN, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of ESPN and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.