The premier women's professional basketball league has lost three of its top executives in the last six months—including, most recently, its president. And that has fans and players alike wondering if the organization is in serious trouble.

Last week, Lisa Borders suddenly announced that she would step down as the WNBA's president, after three seasons at the helm. But while she marked her tenure by encouraging players to speak out publicly about social causes and bolstered the league's progressive credentials, the WNBA still faces problems getting fans into stadium seats, finding advertisers, and making sure the players are paid fairly.

"There's just a lot of talk about the pay level that players get in the WNBA," says Newsday sports reporter Barbara Barker. "The top amount of money you can make, base salary is about $115,500. And they have players making $41,000 a year. The worst player who has never played a game in the NBA will make $838,000 a year."

Barker spoke to WNYC's All Things Considered host Jami Floyd, about the issues Borders' will leave behind for her successor.