This is excellent. It ought to be possible to appreciate the talents of a Caitlin Clark or Audi Crooks without giving into tribalism or jealousy. Their skill deserves to be celebrated. People who can't do that are depriving themselves of some wonderful athletic performances.
No one said Larry Bird needed to win a championship. And he was a national runnerup. But he and Magic Johnson and their college and pro teams had one of the great rivalries in sports. Pete Maravich never made it past the NIT in college, but he's a legend to those who grew up watching him. I think the question some are asking now is why all the attention to women's basketball suddenly, when a white Anglo woman comes to the fore, when the WNBA has been around since 1997. But it predates even the WNBA. I guess everyone forgot about the pre-WNBA days and Ann Meyers at UCLA, now a vice president with the Phoenix Mercury, who was drafted by and signed a contract with the NBA's Indiana Pacers in 1979 -when Magic and Bird were duking in out for a national championship. Or Iowa's own Denise Long, who was drafted straight out of Union-Whitten High School and the six-player half-court game by the NBA's San Francisco Warriors waaaay back in 1969 -- a move voided by the NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy, who said the league at that time didn't draft high schoolers or women.
I guess the real question to the sports world and fans regarding women's basketball is, "What took you so long?" Too bad Britney Griner didn't get half the love as Ms. Clark just two years ago when Ms. Griner was sitting in a Russian jail on trumped-up charges within a week of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. She was a political prisoner, plain and simple, held on charges that would have barely earned her a slap on the wrist here. Good for her for winning WNBA Comeback Player of the Year. Her team? Ann Meyers' Phoenix Mercury, where Diana Taurasi also plays. And Ms. Griner's college, Baylor, retired her No. 42 in February. Her college coach was Kim Mulkey.
Well said.
This is excellent. It ought to be possible to appreciate the talents of a Caitlin Clark or Audi Crooks without giving into tribalism or jealousy. Their skill deserves to be celebrated. People who can't do that are depriving themselves of some wonderful athletic performances.
No one said Larry Bird needed to win a championship. And he was a national runnerup. But he and Magic Johnson and their college and pro teams had one of the great rivalries in sports. Pete Maravich never made it past the NIT in college, but he's a legend to those who grew up watching him. I think the question some are asking now is why all the attention to women's basketball suddenly, when a white Anglo woman comes to the fore, when the WNBA has been around since 1997. But it predates even the WNBA. I guess everyone forgot about the pre-WNBA days and Ann Meyers at UCLA, now a vice president with the Phoenix Mercury, who was drafted by and signed a contract with the NBA's Indiana Pacers in 1979 -when Magic and Bird were duking in out for a national championship. Or Iowa's own Denise Long, who was drafted straight out of Union-Whitten High School and the six-player half-court game by the NBA's San Francisco Warriors waaaay back in 1969 -- a move voided by the NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy, who said the league at that time didn't draft high schoolers or women.
I guess the real question to the sports world and fans regarding women's basketball is, "What took you so long?" Too bad Britney Griner didn't get half the love as Ms. Clark just two years ago when Ms. Griner was sitting in a Russian jail on trumped-up charges within a week of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. She was a political prisoner, plain and simple, held on charges that would have barely earned her a slap on the wrist here. Good for her for winning WNBA Comeback Player of the Year. Her team? Ann Meyers' Phoenix Mercury, where Diana Taurasi also plays. And Ms. Griner's college, Baylor, retired her No. 42 in February. Her college coach was Kim Mulkey.
Thanks for showing understanding of both sides, and asking for people to become their best selves. Especially in public.
This is so good!