It only took 25 years (sarcasm) but I believe this is the first time the WNBA finals received the attention it deserves. I cover sports but I know that oftentimes, we are only focused on less popular sports when there's controversy or when there's a rivalry we want to see. Fortunately, this year's Finals had all of the above. I also must be honest, my good friend and now two-time champion, Candace Parker was in the dance and because we’re so close, I don't think I can give an opinion that's not biased. So I asked someone who knows the sport well to give her opinion. Ally Spooner, is a recent college grad, we work together and she comes from a family of NBA referees. Her experience with the league and WNBA will be different and while perhaps tilted with her lens- she watched as a fan and I was impressed by her perspective.
Spooner says here's - The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the WNBA Finals.
I’ve always been a fan of basketball. Not the NBA, but basketball as a sport. I’m the daughter of recently retired 32 year NBA referee veteran Bill Spooner, and the granddaughter of 27 year NBA referee veteran Paul Mihalak. Basketball has quite literally been in my blood longer than I’ve been alive.
I grew up hearing the invigorating roar of a packed arena, and with that came the beratement of players, coaches, and referees alike. My house rarely went without a game on the TV, and most family dinners were over FaceTime in different time zones. Due to the nature of my dad’s job, I was brought up with a certain level of respect for the game while keeping a level of indifference in regard to being a fan of any particular team. I’m a fan of the game itself, a fan of the rules, and a fan of all the loopholes, quirks, and oddities that come with it. I have a unique perspective thanks to my equally unique childhood. I know when a player’s going to complain about a call, I know when someone’s faking an injury, when they’re going to throw up a three, or when it’s a drive to the basket. Like I said, basketball is in my blood.
I also grew up as a female athlete with a passion for sports that burns hot. I am the epitome of a sports fan. Moreover, I LOVE women’s sports. The headline: Chicago Sky just beat the Phoenix Mercury 3 games to 1 to win the franchise’s first ever WNBA championship. Candace Parker got her hometown ring and played arguably the highest level (yet) of women’s basketball while doing it. The arenas were filled, the celebs showed out, and the games were entertaining as ever.
So I have to ask myself, why is there still such a dramatic discrepancy between men’s and women’s basketball? Why do we only get the WNBA trending on Twitter when they have a player on ESPN’s Body Issue (no longer in print form but you get it)? Why do I have to dig through Google to find out that Diana Taurasi got fined $2,500 after a two-hand shove on a referee (and yes, it was a shove) - but I can wake up in the morning with 8 alerts on my phone telling me that Isaiah Thomas had to cough up $37,000 for some questionable contact with a referee? By the way, Isaiah was immediately ejected from that game and suspended for two games following this. Taurasi didn’t catch so much as a technical let alone any kind of suspension.
The sad truth of the matter is that we only care about women’s sports when it’s convenient for us to care. We steer clear of the nitty gritty in women’s sports or the stories that threaten the integrity of said WNBA because we are fearful to hold them to the same level of accountability that we hold the NBA. How many of you watched a regular season WNBA game before the finals? We can’t expect to have the same numbers, the same following, or even begin to touch on uttering the word equality when we have a sliding scale on standards. I can say that I was just as entertained watching Britany Griner post up the entire Sky roster in the WNBA finals as I would have been watching Steph Curry shimmy his way down the court after his 20th three pointer. However, I wasn’t nearly as impressed by the $34,500 difference between DT and Isaiah’s fines, and I was even less impressed at the fact that Taurasi’s actions were swept under the rug so hush hush while Isaiah Thomas was crucified by the league’s policies and by the media for days. No negativity in the WNBA here.
My point is; as a fan of sports, as a fan of women’s sports, we can and we should do better. If we want our women’s leagues to grow and evolve into the potential they DO have, we have to face the good, the bad, and the ugly that comes with it. We can’t continue to turn a blind eye to the actions of our league’s stars or the major infractions that are continuously overlooked (NWSL I’m looking at you too). This falls not only on the players, coaches, league offices, and yes, even my beloved referees; but the fans, the journalists, the reporters, the Twitter warriors and everyone else watching to call it like we see it. BLOW THE WHISTLE!
