Jim Acosta Just Interviewed a Dead Kid. This Is Not Satire

Let me get this straight.
The WNBA — a league that bleeds money like a gunshot victim in a Tarantino film — just had its players walk out wearing shirts that said, “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”

I had to reread that.

“Pay us what you owe us.”

What?

What exactly does anyone owe you?

Because from where I sit, the WNBA is basically a charity program the NBA keeps alive out of guilt, PR strategy, and fear of being called sexist. It's not even a business — it’s affirmative action with sneakers.

Let’s get one thing clear.

You don’t get paid just for existing. You get paid for producing value. For bringing in fans. For selling tickets. For creating demand.

And the WNBA? You do none of that.

You don’t fill stadiums. You don’t bring in real advertising dollars. You don’t sell out merchandise. Hell, most of America couldn’t name a single player in the league if you paid them.

But somehow, you think you’re owed millions?

No — what you’re owed is a thank you card to the NBA for keeping your lights on.

The WNBA has never — not once — turned a profit.

Not one year.

If the NBA cut the cord, your league would collapse by lunchtime. The NBA subsidizes your existence. You’re not thriving — you’re leeching. You’re a liability with a logo.

You don’t generate the money to cover your own paychecks, and now you want more?

That’s like a guy who borrows money every month asking for a raise on his allowance. That’s not empowerment. That’s entitlement.

And it’s not just about the money. It’s about how unserious this league has become.

Let’s talk about the wig incident.

During a recent WNBA game, one of the players’ wigs flew off mid-play.

What happened next?

The game was stopped. Time-out was called. Not for a twisted ankle. Not for blood on the floor. But for a god damn wig.

This is professional basketball?

No. This is high school drama with a scoreboard.

Imagine an NFL game stopping because a player’s hat came off. Imagine an MLB game halted because someone’s extension got loose on a slide into second.

You can’t. Because real leagues don’t do that.

But this one does. And then it gets even dumber.

A guy in the crowd laughed.

Because of course he did — it’s funny. It’s objectively hilarious. You’re at a live sporting event and a player’s wig flies off in the middle of a game. People laugh. That’s normal.

But not in the WNBA.

No, in the WNBA, this turns into a crisis. The players complain. The officials react. And the man — the fan who laughed — gets thrown out of the game.

Thrown out.

For making a joke. And laughing.

At a wig falling off.

In a basketball game.

This is the league that wants NBA money?

You want equal pay? Here’s how that works: equal value, equal revenue, equal demand.

The NBA players don’t make millions just because they’re men. They make millions because millions of people pay to watch them. Advertisers fight for a spot on those broadcasts. Fans flood the arenas. Jerseys fly off the shelves.

That’s what value looks like.

The WNBA has none of that.

No one’s scalping WNBA tickets. No one’s rushing home to catch the game. No kid is crying because they missed the Phoenix Mercury highlights. It’s a fringe product being artificially inflated by a much bigger, much more successful league.

And yet somehow, you still have the gall to scream, “Pay us what you owe us.”

What you’re owed is a wake-up call.

You are already getting more than you’re worth. You're not underpaid — you're over-subsidized. You are the only workforce in America that can underperform every year, lose money every year, and still march out demanding a raise.

The NBA should be charging you rent.

You’re not a sister league. You’re a dependent.

And if you’re mad about it? Prove us wrong.

Sell out your games. Crush ratings. Pull your own sponsors. Cut the NBA lifeline and run your own show.

You won’t — because you can’t. Because the market doesn’t want what you’re selling.

Let’s just say what everyone else is too afraid to say:

The WNBA is the only league in history that could fold tomorrow, and no one would notice. The players would tweet. The media would pretend to mourn. And the rest of the country would go back to watching real basketball.

The fact that this league even exists — still — is proof of how generous and tolerant the system actually is.

You want equality? Here's your shot. Go build something.

Because until you do…

You're not owed a single damn thing.