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NASHVILLE — The WNBA has yet to speak with Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis regarding its most recent investigation into his team, but he’s ready to talk when the league is.
One day after the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced an unprecedented $1.2 million sponsorship of the dozen Aces, the WNBA announced it was opening an investigation into the deal.
Davis told CBS Sports on Wednesday the league will find “absolutely nothing” wrong with the arrangement.
“There was absolutely nothing done wrong,” Davis said at the conclusion of the NFL league meetings, where he was also representing his Las Vegas Raiders. “And I think it’s sad that they used the word investigation instead of something a little softer to say, ‘Hey we might look into it’ or whatever. But they’re going to find there’s nothing wrong.”
Last week, the LVCVA announced the $100,000-per-player sponsorship deal that the group says was brokered with each player and their agent individually. WNBA rules prohibit teams from facilitating such deals so as to not violate the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
The WNBA has a hard salary cap of $1.4 million. And competitive equity questions have been raised about paying players outside of their contracts in certain markets — or with certain team owners — that have deeper pockets than some rivals.
Davis said his top goal when he bought the Aces in 2021 was to get the players paid more money. He hired Becky Hammon as the head coach, marking the first time a WNBA coach made at least $1 million. The Aces have won consecutive WNBA titles and are currently 2-1 in the young season.
“I’m just really proud of (the LVCVA) for doing it and recognizing the value that the women bring to the community,” Davis said. “If in fact we can get them hundreds of thousands of dollars or get into the millions of dollars for all the players, they can stay in the community….
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/mark-davis-breaks-silence-on-wnbas-investigation-of-aces-owner-says-team-did-absolutely-nothing-wrong/
Author : Jonathan Jones
Publish date : 2024-05-22 20:46:13
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