In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in what was dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes” in straight sets. Since then, several women have attempted to make the jump to compete with the men in their leagues.
Anne Meyers Drysdale, after 3 All-America seasons at UCLA, became the first, and only, woman to sign an NBA contract when she joined the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 1979; however, she did not make the roster and was released before the beginning of the season.
Annika Sorestam and young Michelle Wie both struggled on the men’s tour, failing to qualify for the weekend in each of their attempts.
And now comes the news that David Stern believes a woman will be employed in his league to compete with the boys before the 2020 calendars are printed.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Stern was quoted as saying he believed women would be competing in the NBA within the next ten years, arguing that the strides made from Title IX have increased the softer sex’s athleticism to the point they could physically compete with men. LeBron James, among others, would not go so far as to say women could not ever play with men, but doubted that he would play against a woman before his career is up.
Stern is a brilliant man and one of the finest commissioners to have ever served any of the four major sports. He took a dying league with a huge drug problem and made it a global power - more so than football, baseball or hockey. He recognized basketball’s individual star power, perhaps greater than any other sport, and has made the names Magic, Bird, Jordan, Yao and LeBron household fodder from the glaciers of Alaska to the streets of Nairobi.
Having said all that, his recent comments smack as politically correct at best, and horribly desperate at worst. As commissioner of the NBA he also runs the WNBA, and to publicly state that women could not succeed against the men would tarnish his flailing female product. But to suggest that a woman could compete in the NBA in the next ten years truly is preposterous and is purely a cash grab for Stern and his league.
This is not a chauvinistic attack on female athletes in any way; as an undergrad, the only championship I enjoyed from my alma mater was by the women’s basketball team (don’t throw soccer or ping pong or something else stupid at me that we probably won). There are a number of fine female basketball players, including Candace Parker, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi that have undeniable skill and flair for the game. But can they compete against men, in one of the most demanding physical sports, when other women have failed at gentler ones?
The NBA is in trouble, and if there was ever any doubt, Stern proved it last week with his comments. Stern has failed to change the image of the NBA as a league filled with thugs, despite his best efforts (like instituting a mandatory dress code). Players like Jordan, Bird and Magic were revered, but they were taken as the exception to the rule. For example, a few days before this story broke, I was talking about the NBA with a few friends, and Greg Oden’s injury came up.
“Jesus, Greg Oden done for the year again. The Trail Blazers will be haunted by yet another draft backfiring,” I mentioned as news of Oden’s season-ending injury scrolled the bottom of the screen.
“The Jail Blazers - biggest thug team of all-time,” came the response to my right.
I turned and asked the commenter if he could name one player, aside from Oden, who was currently employed by the Trail Blazers. He could not. Then, I asked him to name such a “thug” that once played for them, something he should be certain of since he so confidently made the aforementioned statement. He failed in that regard as well.
But therein lies the NBA’s problem: a huge portion of its would be market, the white, suburban, 18-35 year-old market, has members who carry stereotypes, yet can’t name one player on a team that won 50+ games last year, or a player that helped forge said stereotype, which is dated by several years. The NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals struggled with off-the-field issues for years, yet they are no longer referred to as “thugs,” despite retaining the same head coach who over saw that era. The Dallas Cowboys were known as “America’s Team” during a decade that saw star players be busted for cocaine and guns numerous times. Donte’ Stallworth served time for manslaughter, Mike Vick for dog fighting, Rae Carruth for murder and Jamaal Lewis for drug trafficking, but nary a whisper of the “T” word in NFL circles.
Stern is pedaling a black league in a white world, and apparently, there are not enough fedoras or tailored suits to cover the tattoos that the white boys can’t get past. The NFL has Tom Brady’s chiseled jaw and Peyton Manning’s goofy yet entertaining advertisements to win the hearts of Honkeyville, but Joe The Plumber sees a Newport News boy and not the scrappy guard returning to his NBA home tonight. Stern has been reduced to pilfering Europe and now even gimmicks to get his league exposure, a league with an even bigger labor headache upcoming than the NFL, one that many believe will lead to yet another lockout, a la 1999.
The United States is still crippled with instituted racism, and it is easy to see its effects on the NBA. Without a bona-fide media superstar, the NBA has struggled. Jordan’s greatest asset wasn’t his tongue-wagging dunks or incredulous shrugs after a three-point onslaught, it was his ability to get the suburban kids pumping Green Day through their Walkmans to buy his shoes. LeBron can’t even get other NBA players to wear his shoes without controversy.
The NBA has as fine an athletic product as any major sports league the world over. Claims of players “not trying” or “only worried about the offensive end” are trite and indicative not merely of the cultural ignorance toward professional basketball, but a severe case of denial with regards to athletes in other leagues. College players don’t play better defense, they just suck something awful at shooting; that’s why they are amateurs and not professionals. College kids don’t care more than the NBA, they just don’t have to play 82 games in half-empty arenas possessing no energy. And the notion that the March Madness Tournament, which routinely sees more 40 point wins then barn-burners, is more entertaining than watching Kobe march to a fourth title, LeBron attempt to join the elite and Paul Pierce boldly try to defend a title is ludicrous.
Stern’s problems stretch beyond what an undersized, female three-point specialist can solve, but perhaps he merely has a crystal ball that foresees the end of his league before another decade passes, forcing his boys to run coed pick-up games down at the Y just like everyone else.
Posts
