Posts
The WNBA has finally arrived. Not really, but at least it's getting a few more seconds on SportsCenter.
It has taken a brawl at the end of Tuesday's Los Angeles Sparks-Detroit Shock game to bring wid(er)spread media and fan attention to the league. Sportscasters and league officials have reacted to the brawl with disgust and disdain....which is a step up from the usual disgust and disdain fans react with over the level of play on display.
Is it really that much of a surprise that professional athletes have gotten into a fight while embroiled in the thick of battle? Why the disgust? Is it because they're women and should behave like ladies instead of acting like their boorish male counterparts?
Nah! That would fly in the face of true equality...which is what the league is supposed to be all about. (Yeah, right!)
We don't expect the men to behave like gentlemen while on the court, so, in the interest of equality, why should the women be expected to behave like ladies? They're egocentric pro athletes, just like the men who comprise the NBA. Aggression and rough play is something they should be used to.
Look at women's pro boxing. There are no pretenses in that sport. Fans who watch it aren't expecting ladylike behavior from the combatants.
The way I see it, a WNBA brawl is long overdue. After over a decade of existence behind the guise of gender equality, why not embrace this incident and build off of it? Fighting is, to some extent, part of the allure of the NBA. Fans of the NBA have come to expect aggression and rough play on the court. In most arenas, the fans feed off of it.
So why should it be any different in the WNBA? It surely couldn't hurt given the league's infinitesimal fan base.
Sure, NBA players are fined and suspended for violence, but how painful is it for a multi-millionaire basketball player to fork out a $10,000 fine and miss a game or two for acting aggressively? If aggression was truly not wanted, then the messages sent for fighting, in any sport, would be much stiffer than they are now.
Another thing to consider in all of this is the coaching involved. Is anyone really surprised that a Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn coached player is charged with starting the WNBA's worst fight?
Detroit's Plenette Pierson, deemed the instigator of the fight, was fined $1,500 and has been suspended for four games. Not to be outdone by most participants, former Bad Boy Mahorn was fined $1,000 and received a two-game suspension for pushing L.A. star Lisa Leslie to the floor during the fight. The rest of the players involved were slapped with $500 fines.
Personally, I will be keeping a better eye on the WNBA (*sardonic grin*). If aggressive play is going to be embraced like it is in the NBA, I may change my opinion of the league and start watching. (Yeah, riiiiggght!)
by Kelly L Martinez
Bleacher Preacher
Followers
Blog Archive
Bleacher Preacher
- Kelly M
- has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Deseret Morning News, and Meridian Magazine. From 1995-99, he was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers' stat crew.
5 comments:
There is a major flaw in your thinking, Kelly. The league is not about equality. It is about trying to keep NBA arenas busy during the off-season and trying to make a little more money for all those greedy owners. If it was about equality, the salaries would be the same; the product would be the same. Neither of those things are true. The major reason for that? The game is not the same as the NBA game.
Everyone knows a good middle of the road college men's basketball team could beat any and all WNBA teams. It just isn't the same quality game. And for my money, if you are looking at "Aggression and rough play," as the draw for NBA crowds, you might as well have the point guards be from the UFC.
You get my point. The WNBA will NEVER be the NBA! No matter how many fights they have.
Brian
Perhaps my tongue-in-cheek intentions didn't come across too clearly.
I agree with you, Brian. The WNBA will NEVER be the NBA.
I also agree that the WNBA is nothing more than an exhibition that allows owners to rake in more dough during the NBA's off season.
However, my intent was to show that the WNBA exists behind the guise of gender equality, not that it actually is equal. It is evident by the fines levied by the league that the pay scales are very different.
My closing comment was totally tongue-in-cheek, though. The WNBA could turn into a free-for-all melee league and I STILL wouldn't watch.
Kelly,
Sorry about not seeing the "tongue in cheek" thing. I agree with you. The sports writers/radio hosts in this part of the country took it as seeing this kind of behavior finally makes their league legitimate (not hardly).
You are a good writer. I enjoy what you have to say.
Brian
I must admit that the WNBA has become an extended commercial break during SportsCenter during which I spend time getting a drink, snack, etc.. Then the fight was mentioned and I was compelled to watch and see what happened. What I saw made me think of a possible marketing ploy by the NBA to garnish interest in its product known as the WNBA. Talk about your wild pitch...my interest in the WNBA doesn't even register a blip on my sports geiger counter.
By the way, your writing is excellent and thought provoking. Keep it up because I will surely be looking forward to reading your words.
Post a Comment