July 23, 2003
Sensational Sue
(In the interest of full disclosure, click on the pic to find its source)
The greatest show currently on television introduced me to a story yesterday (6/21) about Sue Bird. As detailed in this article (found on Google News), she made a bet with a local disc jockey with the potential of being spanked if she lost.
What first struck me about this story is that it involved Sue Bird, whom I consider to be the only attractive player in the WNBA. Of course, one has to realize that I've only seen these women in highlights from WNBA games, not when they are on the street, so I have to say she is the most attractive woman while playing the game.
The second interesting thing about this story is the backlash that resulted in her calling off the bet. While I admit there is some humiliation involved with the spanking in this situation, the idea that she is a role model and this will lead to violence against women is ridiculous. (Then again, in another entry I claimed that marijuana doesn't lead to harder drugs). The point of this exercise is not too physically abuse a woman, but to humorously play off some sexual innuendo. Small girls (or boys) should not be exposed to this, but this gimmick was obviously aimed at adults. While this might increase the spanking of women (in consensual ways), to think that it will lead to bitch-slapping women in alleys or other more heinous acts of violence seems illogical on the face.
Of course, Sue claims that there is no way she will lose the bet, however, there has to be some doubt. The bet is over whether she can have a 2 to 1 or better assist ratio. During this current contest, her second year in the league, she is at 2.17 after 20 games (apparently they have a 32 game season), but last year her ratio was less than 2. A slight slump, by her or her teammates, and she could easily end the season under 2.
The funny thing about this situation is that the WNBA has been having trouble drawing men 18-35 and this definitely would have had that effect. ESPN would definitely have kept a running total for the rest of the season on Sportscenter. The great majority of sports fans would agree that the level of play in the NBA and WNBA just don't compare - and not coincidentally this great majority are males 18 - 35. The one advantage they have over the NBA is the feminine wilds of their players. Admittedly, this stunt is not the best way to draw out that point, but there must be a way to bring these characteristics out while keeping the integrity of the game. Players like Lisa Harrison apparently realize that they can both be basketball players and women.