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Monday, 6/30/97 Talented women deserve equal play WNBA: To see females have success in basketball, integrate men's hoops, don't create short-lived new leagues

By Rocky Salmon Daily Bruin Staff The player cuts right, then left, splits the defenders, then begins the rise to slam the ball through the hoop. The fans jump out of their seats, excited to see a first in women's basketball. As the player rises above the rim to dunk the ball, her hands just graze the rim and the ball ricochets out of bounds. A missed dunk by Lisa Leslie of the L.A. Sparks reverberated within the Forum, providing closure to the debate echoing throughout America. The debate's focus is not whether women should play basketball. Rather, the question is this - does anybody want to pay to see women play? Basketball has seen women's leagues come and go. In 1991, the Liberty Basketball Association folded after one exhibition game; in 1992, the Women's World Basketball Association folded after several weeks. Can the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) last a whole season? The most likely answer to this question is yes, since the WNBA is backed by the NBA, a marketing giant. But, will the league last five years? Yeah, and I'm Anfernee Hardaway. I doubt fans will want to see players run up and down the court for two or more hours, scoring a mere 62 points to win in overtime (for example, the riveting - yeah, right - Houston Comets vs. New York Liberty game.) Some of these players are good enough to play in any league and make the sport exciting, but most definitely are not. In 1979, Ann Meyers, an UCLA alumni, signed a $50,000 contract with the NBA's Indiana Pacers, but was eventually cut. Nancy Lieberman-Kline became the first woman to actually play on a men's team when she joined the United States Basketball League (USBL). Women can play any sport that a man can, and can succeed. I would love to see Lisa Leslie playing defense for the L.A. Clippers (after all, they just traded their only center). Let Sheryl Swoopes take it to the rack against John Stockton. I think these women could play in the NBA. (After all, a woman - Ila Borders - pitches in minor league baseball.) In 1972, Richard Nixon signed Title IX, providing women's athletic programs with the same funding as similar ones for men. It took many years for equality to actually percolate into college sports. Cal State Northridge's slashing of four men's sports and the start of the WNBA league has foregrounded Title IX. The time is finally coming for women's equality in sports, but is it coming about the wrong way? In my opinion, definitely. The WNBA showcases women. The NBA showcases men. The two leagues should combine to have the best basketball players on the same teams, regardless of gender. Couldn't a sweet-shooting Jamila Wideman benefit the Chicago Bulls? Of course. A player is a player; his or her skills - not gender - should determine whether that person makes it into the NBA. I would rather see Lisa Leslie running up and down the court with players of equally high caliber than see her being denied the ball because her point guard can not swing it to her. The issue should not be equality of gender; instead, the focus should be on equality of talent. Don't you think that if Jerry West thought that Rebecca Lobo could help the Lakers he would sign her? NBA teams are in the league for one thing - money. If Lobo could give the Lakers an edge in competition and a chance to make more money, Jerry West would sign her faster than you can say "Kobe Bryant." The last question which needs to be answered is this: will the WNBA have a major impact on college women's sports, especially basketball? I think not. At the very first LA Sparks game, a sell-out crowd showed up to watch the team lose. Unfortunately for the Sparks, six thousand less people showed up for their third game, which they won. The popularity of the women's games is already dying out two weeks into the season. With the league expecting to lose money (about 5 million per team) in their inaugural season, the teams cannot afford to lose valuable attendance dollars. If the WNBA cannot maintain its attendance, how can the league benefit UCLA athletics? It can't. Women's sports will continue in the land of the Bruin, but they won't gain popularity from the WNBA. Maybe, just maybe, people will realize how hard the women teams play and notice their skill level. I hope people will come to watch them play, not because of some league, but because they are Bruins. There is one way which the WNBA can affect the athletic department, however - Title IX will be finally completed at UCLA. One more varsity women's team is needed to comply with the law, and it appears that one of those two teams will either be the crew or the lacrosse team. The WNBA could put pressure on the department to speed their decision and to quit stalling for excuses. Could the women's basketball team get a boost in attendance because of the WNBA? Theoretically it should. Realistically, it won't. There will probably be more squirrels on Bruin Walk than people attending UCLA women's basketball games. People do not attend games because of gender; they attend because the team is winning. If the women's basketball team wants to attract more people, they should make into the NCAA tournament. People want to see the men's basketball team because they seem to make the tournament every year. There are certain things you expect in life: skin, a heart, and the Bruins in the tournament. If they don't, you can expect attendance to drop. What do Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Rebecca Lobo, and American Basketball League player Kate Starbird all have in common? They all have superb basketball talents but are playing in the wrong league. Let the women play in the NBA. Don't segregate the leagues based on gender. It should be segregated on talent. If Jamila Wideman can take John Starks off the dribble, let her! The WNBA may be around for a few years, but will the fans buy the low-scoring games and slow pace? It seems that the ABL is truer to the game and has more excitement. After all, they use a regulation-sized NBA ball and were the first players to actually say "We got next." If history repeats itself, then both leagues will face a wall and crash right into it. Get ready, WNBA. Even if you "got next" you better watch your step, because the last hurdle will eventually trip you. Previous Daily Bruin Story Interest in women's hoops lacking despite positive reports, January 9, 1997 Previous Daily Bruin Story Hoops seniors wear emotions on sleeves, February 8, 1995