Monday, 6/30/97 Talented women deserve equal play WNBA: To see
females have success in basketball, integrate men’s hoops, don’t
create short-lived new leagues
By Rocky Salmon Daily Bruin Staff The player cuts right, then
left, splits the defenders, then begins the rise to slam the ball
through the hoop. The fans jump out of their seats, excited to see
a first in women’s basketball. As the player rises above the rim to
dunk the ball, her hands just graze the rim and the ball ricochets
out of bounds. A missed dunk by Lisa Leslie of the L.A. Sparks
reverberated within the Forum, providing closure to the debate
echoing throughout America. The debate’s focus is not whether women
should play basketball. Rather, the question is this – does anybody
want to pay to see women play? Basketball has seen women’s leagues
come and go. In 1991, the Liberty Basketball Association folded
after one exhibition game; in 1992, the Women’s World Basketball
Association folded after several weeks. Can the Women’s National
Basketball Association (WNBA) last a whole season? The most likely
answer to this question is yes, since the WNBA is backed by the
NBA, a marketing giant. But, will the league last five years? Yeah,
and I’m Anfernee Hardaway. I doubt fans will want to see players
run up and down the court for two or more hours, scoring a mere 62
points to win in overtime (for example, the riveting – yeah, right
– Houston Comets vs. New York Liberty game.) Some of these players
are good enough to play in any league and make the sport exciting,
but most definitely are not. In 1979, Ann Meyers, an UCLA alumni,
signed a $50,000 contract with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, but was
eventually cut. Nancy Lieberman-Kline became the first woman to
actually play on a men’s team when she joined the United States
Basketball League (USBL). Women can play any sport that a man can,
and can succeed. I would love to see Lisa Leslie playing defense
for the L.A. Clippers (after all, they just traded their only
center). Let Sheryl Swoopes take it to the rack against John
Stockton. I think these women could play in the NBA. (After all, a
woman – Ila Borders – pitches in minor league baseball.) In 1972,
Richard Nixon signed Title IX, providing women’s athletic programs
with the same funding as similar ones for men. It took many years
for equality to actually percolate into college sports. Cal State
Northridge’s slashing of four men’s sports and the start of the
WNBA league has foregrounded Title IX. The time is finally coming
for women’s equality in sports, but is it coming about the wrong
way? In my opinion, definitely. The WNBA showcases women. The NBA
showcases men. The two leagues should combine to have the best
basketball players on the same teams, regardless of gender.
Couldn’t a sweet-shooting Jamila Wideman benefit the Chicago Bulls?
Of course. A player is a player; his or her skills – not gender –
should determine whether that person makes it into the NBA. I would
rather see Lisa Leslie running up and down the court with players
of equally high caliber than see her being denied the ball because
her point guard can not swing it to her. The issue should not be
equality of gender; instead, the focus should be on equality of
talent. Don’t you think that if Jerry West thought that Rebecca
Lobo could help the Lakers he would sign her? NBA teams are in the
league for one thing – money. If Lobo could give the Lakers an edge
in competition and a chance to make more money, Jerry West would
sign her faster than you can say "Kobe Bryant." The last question
which needs to be answered is this: will the WNBA have a major
impact on college women’s sports, especially basketball? I think
not. At the very first LA Sparks game, a sell-out crowd showed up
to watch the team lose. Unfortunately for the Sparks, six thousand
less people showed up for their third game, which they won. The
popularity of the women’s games is already dying out two weeks into
the season. With the league expecting to lose money (about 5
million per team) in their inaugural season, the teams cannot
afford to lose valuable attendance dollars. If the WNBA cannot
maintain its attendance, how can the league benefit UCLA athletics?
It can’t. Women’s sports will continue in the land of the Bruin,
but they won’t gain popularity from the WNBA. Maybe, just maybe,
people will realize how hard the women teams play and notice their
skill level. I hope people will come to watch them play, not
because of some league, but because they are Bruins. There is one
way which the WNBA can affect the athletic department, however –
Title IX will be finally completed at UCLA. One more varsity
women’s team is needed to comply with the law, and it appears that
one of those two teams will either be the crew or the lacrosse
team. The WNBA could put pressure on the department to speed their
decision and to quit stalling for excuses. Could the women’s
basketball team get a boost in attendance because of the WNBA?
Theoretically it should. Realistically, it won’t. There will
probably be more squirrels on Bruin Walk than people attending UCLA
women’s basketball games. People do not attend games because of
gender; they attend because the team is winning. If the women’s
basketball team wants to attract more people, they should make into
the NCAA tournament. People want to see the men’s basketball team
because they seem to make the tournament every year. There are
certain things you expect in life: skin, a heart, and the Bruins in
the tournament. If they don’t, you can expect attendance to drop.
What do Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Rebecca Lobo, and American
Basketball League player Kate Starbird all have in common? They all
have superb basketball talents but are playing in the wrong league.
Let the women play in the NBA. Don’t segregate the leagues based on
gender. It should be segregated on talent. If Jamila Wideman can
take John Starks off the dribble, let her! The WNBA may be around
for a few years, but will the fans buy the low-scoring games and
slow pace? It seems that the ABL is truer to the game and has more
excitement. After all, they use a regulation-sized NBA ball and
were the first players to actually say "We got next." If history
repeats itself, then both leagues will face a wall and crash right
into it. Get ready, WNBA. Even if you "got next" you better watch
your step, because the last hurdle will eventually trip you.
Previous Daily Bruin Story Interest in women’s hoops lacking
despite positive reports, January 9, 1997 Previous Daily Bruin
Story Hoops seniors wear emotions on sleeves, February 8, 1995