Soapbox #2: Why no Women’s Sports highlights on ESPN?

They can’t fine me if I Twit this because I don’t work for them or any professional sports league. The truth is that I attended my first WNBA game yesterday (LA Sparks vs. Indiana Fever). It was a great game, a fundamental game, an entertaining game – the type you would want to take your family to. There were no Laker Girls gyrating or movie star cameos adding a Red Carpet aura to an already star-studded venue. The crowd was good too, not even close to empty. And BTW (by the way) Lisa Leslie scored her 6,000th point of her illustrious career that comes to an end this year.

There was no mention of any of these elements on Sportscenter, ESPN news or the like but there was an NFL injury report so that you can keep that in mind during your fantasy football draft. And there was a story about Pau Gasol injuring his finger while training in Spain. I love Pau Gasol and how he’s helped the Lakers but his season doesn’t begin for a couple of months. WNBA is “Right Now”. I know that when being persuasive the rule is to include a counterargument to anticipate the other viewpoint’s rebuttal. Well…sports is not just a business. That’s what they’ll claim right? It’s better for our viewership if we air mostly male professional sports and an occasional feature piece about a high school wrestler who is a double-amputee (I loved that one by the way). ESPN is large enough with its semi-celebrity newscasters that it can now tell us what’s good for viewership. Air the women’s soccer, basketball, softball, etc. because most men on the planet can’t guard Tina Thompson or Candice Parker.

Does the ESPN go to Sparks games? They have some of the players in their “This is Sportscenter” commercials. So I’m a female sports advocate crying about Title IX equality and such. Whatever. I’m just tired of the world hiding behind the business excuse when they keep sports lovers from seeing all that’s good about competition and healthy sports environments. Business is what you make it. Athletics, as a rule, is genderless and that’s from a guy who didn’t always think that way.