If the WNBA wants to grow the game, its players need to be likable, not political. So Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are supposed to look more like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird than Hillary Clinton and Gloria Steinem.
The league has been riding a wave of interest and excitement in women’s basketball since Clark completed her historic collegiate career at the University of Iowa. The all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball was the top pick in last week’s WNBA draft. One of Clark’s competitors, Angel Reese, was the No. 7 pick. Former LSU star known as “Bayou Barbie” lived up to her expectations nickname On the draft night red carpet.
The biggest challenge facing the league, and perhaps the main obstacle to cultivating a new fan base, is excessive political posturing.
This is a dream scenario for a league that has never turned a profit since its inception in 1996. But this dream could quickly turn into a nightmare if the WNBA accepts its marching orders from its most undesirable figure. people in American culture.
Joe Biden, Jemele Hill and Nicole Hannah-Jones are just a few of the celebrities who appeared on social media after Caitlin Clark’s four-year, $338,000 rookie contract went viral. The consensus on the left is that WNBA players “deserve” a “fair share,” the norm for receiving compensation in the same way as male players.
The NBA generates about $10 billion revenue Meanwhile, the WNBA generates about $200 million. It’s no wonder that people who have been lying for years about the “gender pay gap” think the basic rules of economics are sexist.
There are two ways to address the WNBA’s high salary demands and pay them “fairly” compared to men. One is for journalists, activists, and celebrities to complain and whine and try to guilt-trip the league into giving players more money. For another, the league hopes Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese can do for the women’s game what Magic and Bird did for the NBA in the 1980s. These two college stars continued their rivalry in a league that was in dire need of a makeover at a time when drug use was rampant and attendance was low.
The NBA used Magic and Bird to rebrand and revive the sport. The WNBA needs to do the same.
Unfortunately, there are several factors working against the league. One is that the nature of the game is much different than what casual basketball fans are used to seeing in his NBA highlights. The men’s game is primarily played above the rim, while the women’s game is primarily played below the rim. In 2017, the WNBA video for every dunk in the league’s history up to that point (20 years). It lasted just over a minute.
The other is that many players have a more masculine look and the league is fully committed to the Pride issue. In fact, former player Candice Wiggins claimed that the league’s “lesbian culture” contributed to her presence. bullied during her career.
But the biggest challenge facing the league, and perhaps the main obstacle to cultivating a new fan base, is excessive political posturing.
Over the past decade, WNBA players have taken a knee or walked away Courtroom protesting during national anthem, T-shirts worn to support He campaigned for the Senate of Jacob Blake and Raphael Warnock. Players and the league, like most celebrities, seem to think they have more influence than they actually do. The truth is, no one wants to be lectured by an ignorant athlete in a sport that almost no one watches. Many sports fans would have a hard time giving up on the NFL or NBA because of politics. The same cannot be said for the WNBA.
The league needs all the fans it can get. You have to like the game to participate in it. And if you hate the player, you won’t like the game either. And when feminists, who suck the joy out of every area of life, turn to women’s sports, they are sure to hate the players.
The league wants its players to compete hard on the court while smiling their million dollar smiles off the court. The last thing we need is to be branded as a league full of or supported by anti-American, bra-burning, septum ring-wearing radical feminists. The WNBA should distance itself as much as possible from the types of people who blame sexism and misogyny for everything women don’t like in the world.
Not only is it annoying, it makes honest reflection and personal responsibility nearly impossible. Who would pay to take their children to a game if they believed that athletes and their “allies” view them as toxic men who perpetuate patriarchy? The league needs more femininity, not feminism.
There’s no guarantee that a complete rebrand will be as popular or generate as much revenue as the men’s game. But people who claim to care about this sport should stop trying to kill golden Caitlins and angel geese before they lay their first eggs.
