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The WNBA is so much more than a basketball league.
It’s become an inspirer of dreams, a source of confidence and comfort, a societal disruptor and maker of all kinds of good trouble. We knew the W would be good for women’s basketball. As it begins its 30th season, we had no idea how good it would be for the rest of us.
“The accessibility that we have now is so incredible for young girls,” said Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, a two-time WNBA champion entering her 16th season.
“Even when we were young, the WNBA was still around but it wasn't so much available to you. You had to really search it out. So just having something where girls can dream to be, I think is just really special.”
Women’s sports have always had to be “more than” because nothing was given to them. They’ve had to scratch and claw to exist while men’s sports just … are. They’ve had to fight for the acceptance and equity that comes freely to men’s sports. They’ve had to ignore insults and condescension male athletes rarely of ever hear.
But it’s made women’s sports, and the women who play them, better. As a result, it’s made us better, too.
That transformational new collective bargaining agreement is doing more than creating a bunch of newly-minted millionaires. It’s providing a blueprint for other women’s leagues, as well as encouragement for any woman who knows she is not getting what she’s worth. She might not be going up against clueless NBA owners, but she can channel the determination and preparedness of the W players.
“That’s the hope and the goal in what we do,” said Chicago Sky forward Elizabeth Williams, who as secretary of the WNBA Players Association helped negotiate the new CBA. “Obviously, we think about ourselves and what matters for us in our league and what’s unique to us, but it does set a precedent for what women’s sports can look like across the board.
“We’ve seen the NWSL and the PWHL really grow and blossom. Hopefully as they get more into their CBA negotiations, they can look at ours and see where they can make jumps and leaps. And, hopefully, inspire girls to continue stay in sport and see what they can do.”
The W began 25 years after Title IX was passed, when girls had few places outside the Olympics to look for role models. Now the W offers them in all shapes, sizes and colors. No matter who you are, there is someone in the W that looks like you, has a similar background as you, had to overcome the same obstacles as you. Visibility like that can be life-changing.
It’s the same for the LGBTQ+ community. The W continues to be a safe space for players and fans, a place they can proudly be themselves and never feel the need to conform to anyone else’s ideas. From the StudBudz to the Power Straights, there is room for everyone so long as you’re not a jerk.
The W has done more than model the world it wants to see, though. Its players have repeatedly used their platforms and voices to stand up for those who can’t and shined their spotlight on this country’s shortcomings.
W players were among the first to protest police brutality of people of color. After Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her apartment by Louisville police in March 2020, the WNBA dedicated its season to her. When then-Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler criticized the league’s efforts at social justice, the players helped the Rev. Raphael Warnock defeat her in their race for the U.S. Senate.
“To be able to see the impact that we had, not just civically, but for us to be able to organize and mobilize in the way we did, it was truly the epitome of the work we’ve been doing and what the league has stood for for so long,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told USA TODAY Sports in the fall of 2020.
The WNBA was going to make an impact simply by its existence, giving young women an opportunity to be professional athletes. But the league and its players went above and beyond that, and have helped level the playing field for all women.
With a broader reach and brighter spotlight, imagine the good the WNBA will do over the next 30 years.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA good for women's basketball. It's good for rest of us, too
Continue reading...
It’s become an inspirer of dreams, a source of confidence and comfort, a societal disruptor and maker of all kinds of good trouble. We knew the W would be good for women’s basketball. As it begins its 30th season, we had no idea how good it would be for the rest of us.
“The accessibility that we have now is so incredible for young girls,” said Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, a two-time WNBA champion entering her 16th season.
“Even when we were young, the WNBA was still around but it wasn't so much available to you. You had to really search it out. So just having something where girls can dream to be, I think is just really special.”
Women’s sports have always had to be “more than” because nothing was given to them. They’ve had to scratch and claw to exist while men’s sports just … are. They’ve had to fight for the acceptance and equity that comes freely to men’s sports. They’ve had to ignore insults and condescension male athletes rarely of ever hear.
But it’s made women’s sports, and the women who play them, better. As a result, it’s made us better, too.
That transformational new collective bargaining agreement is doing more than creating a bunch of newly-minted millionaires. It’s providing a blueprint for other women’s leagues, as well as encouragement for any woman who knows she is not getting what she’s worth. She might not be going up against clueless NBA owners, but she can channel the determination and preparedness of the W players.
“That’s the hope and the goal in what we do,” said Chicago Sky forward Elizabeth Williams, who as secretary of the WNBA Players Association helped negotiate the new CBA. “Obviously, we think about ourselves and what matters for us in our league and what’s unique to us, but it does set a precedent for what women’s sports can look like across the board.
“We’ve seen the NWSL and the PWHL really grow and blossom. Hopefully as they get more into their CBA negotiations, they can look at ours and see where they can make jumps and leaps. And, hopefully, inspire girls to continue stay in sport and see what they can do.”
The W began 25 years after Title IX was passed, when girls had few places outside the Olympics to look for role models. Now the W offers them in all shapes, sizes and colors. No matter who you are, there is someone in the W that looks like you, has a similar background as you, had to overcome the same obstacles as you. Visibility like that can be life-changing.
It’s the same for the LGBTQ+ community. The W continues to be a safe space for players and fans, a place they can proudly be themselves and never feel the need to conform to anyone else’s ideas. From the StudBudz to the Power Straights, there is room for everyone so long as you’re not a jerk.
The W has done more than model the world it wants to see, though. Its players have repeatedly used their platforms and voices to stand up for those who can’t and shined their spotlight on this country’s shortcomings.
W players were among the first to protest police brutality of people of color. After Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her apartment by Louisville police in March 2020, the WNBA dedicated its season to her. When then-Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler criticized the league’s efforts at social justice, the players helped the Rev. Raphael Warnock defeat her in their race for the U.S. Senate.
“To be able to see the impact that we had, not just civically, but for us to be able to organize and mobilize in the way we did, it was truly the epitome of the work we’ve been doing and what the league has stood for for so long,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told USA TODAY Sports in the fall of 2020.
The WNBA was going to make an impact simply by its existence, giving young women an opportunity to be professional athletes. But the league and its players went above and beyond that, and have helped level the playing field for all women.
With a broader reach and brighter spotlight, imagine the good the WNBA will do over the next 30 years.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA good for women's basketball. It's good for rest of us, too
Continue reading...
