WNBA Season Opens July 25 With Weekend Dedicated To Black Lives Matter Movement
(CBS Local/CBSNewYork)- The WNBA announced Monday the official schedule for its 2020 season that's set to be played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The WNBA Tip-Off '20 gets underway July 25 with a tripleheader of games on ESPN, ABC and CBS Sports Network.
During the league's opening weekend, all aspects of the games featuring the league's 12 teams will be designed to affirm the Black Lives Matter movement and honor the victims of police brutality and racial violence. On opening weekend July 25-26, team uniforms will display Breonna Taylor's name and players will have the option to continue to wear the placard with Taylor's name for subsequent games. Throughout the season, players will wear warm-up shirts with "Black Lives Matter" on the front and "Say Her Name" on the back.
"As we build on the momentum for women's sports and the WNBA from last season, we're incredibly grateful to our broadcast partners who have shown a continued commitment to bringing the WNBA to fans across the country on their biggest platforms," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement. "This 2020 WNBA season will truly be one unlike any other, and we're looking forward to using our collective platform to highlight the tremendous athletes in the WNBA as well as their advocacy for social change."
CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network will feature a schedule of 40 games throughout the season including 11 doubleheaders and a tripleheader. This season marks the first time that the WNBA will air a game on CBS Television Network when No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty take on the Las Vegas Aces and two-time league leading scorer Angel McCoughtry on Saturday, August 29 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
The CBS Sports coverage begins on July 25 on CBS Sports Network with the final game of the opening day tripleheader featuring the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics. It will be followed up on July 26 with a battle between the Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream. Both games have 5 p.m. Eastern start times.
After opening weekend, another 38 games will air between CBS Sports Network and CBS Television Network. Ionescu's Liberty squad will be featured on CBS Sports Network 11 times with Dallas (10 times) and Los Angeles and Seattle (seven times) also getting plenty of air-time on the network.
"The WNBA features some of the best basketball in the world and we look forward to another fantastic season of the WNBA on CBS Sports Network," said Dan Weinberg, Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports in a statement. "We are pleased to expand our partnership this season and schedule a game on CBS, as we broaden the reach, bringing the tremendous talent of the league to an even bigger audience. Our 40-game slate, offering national exposure of each game, is very strong, highlighted by young stars and legends, and we are excited to showcase them on CBS Sports."
The full schedule for the league's 24th season can be found on the WNBA's website.