I just wanted to mention that it has officially been a year since I started writing my blog on a weekly basis. I wanted to thank those of you who read it regularly. I really appreciate the feedback that you give and I hope that you are still finding value in the topics and items I write about each week. It has been a challenge keeping up with it and finding interesting things to say but I really am enjoying the process of writing about the game of basketball. I like practicing my commitment to getting an article out each week and am very proud of how many times I was able to reach the deadline. It definitely stretches me to continue to think about something to share each week and when I will make the time to write it. Here is to another year of embarking on this journey of expressing my love for this wonderful game!
This past weekend Sheryl Swoopes was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. For those of you that don’t know Sheryl Swoopes is a former Olympic Gold medalist with the 1996 USA Women’s National Team. She was the first woman to have a signature Nike shoe called the Air Swoopes. Sheryl went to college at Texas Tech and was the first woman to sign on to the WNBA with the Houston Comets. Her team went on to win 4 consecutive WNBA Championships. She was an incredible player and still continues to be an ambassador of the game.
In 1996, I had the privilege of seeing her play leading up to the Olympic games in Atlanta because Canada played Team USA in Calgary right before the Olympics started. I travelled up with my high school team to watch. I have to say it was an incredible fan experience. Sheryl had a silky smooth shot and made her impact on both sides of the game. The way she elevated her teammates was impressive even to my less educated basketball mind at the time. I would love to see that game again now. Back then Sheryl was given the nickname the “Female Michael Jordan”.
I am really proud of Sheryl Swoopes’ accomplishments but I can’t help but wonder why are we still doing that? Saying that a female athlete is a male version of so and so. Women have been playing sports for a long time now and I understand that male sports are more prevalent but honestly it is time to let women stand on their own.
Nancy Lieberman who is a basketball trail blazer in her own right was known as “Lady Magic” and I think the reason it is done is to make it easier for people to be brought up to speed quickly on who someone is without having to think too much. However, I think it is incredibly limiting thinking that male sports are the only thing that matters still. The WNBA just celebrated its 20th Anniversary this year so women have been making a contribution for decades now. It is time to lose that “female version of…” moniker. On some level it would be interesting to see someone labelled as the “male version of Diana Taurasi” or the “male version of Serena Williams”. I am glad that isn’t the case though because letting athletes stand on their own is so much more empowering.
This seems to happen in other sports too. For example, a few months ago I went to the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto. I haven’t been there in a long time and I was so excited when I saw Geraldine Heaney and Angela James up on the wall in the Great Hall. As I started to read their plaques I was so disappointed to see the description saying Angela James was the “Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey" and Geraldine Heaney was the “Bobby Orr of women’s hockey”. In other areas of the Hall there was a spot indicating that women started playing hockey at the same time that men did. It is so disappointing. I left thinking they were reduced to a comparison to someone else.
Also consider they would never do that to a male’s plaque at the Hall of Fame because men are allowed to stand on their own. They are able to let their game speak for itself because when they reach that level people know them and they are glorified for their own abilities. It needs to be the same for women as it simply isn’t enough to allow her to be in the Hall of Fame if another person’s name is referenced on her plaque. It is time to empower female athletes completely and unapologetically making it normal as well as acceptable for them to be there in the first place.
I am sure the thought of being compared to someone who has reached the pinnacle of the game is very flattering. Jordan, Magic, Gretzky and Orr are not bad comparisons. Heck if someone compared me to Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich I would be elated but still allow me to be my own person. Don't box me into that or put it on a plaque to make it “easier” for people to identify what was accomplished. That practice is just very much out of fashion today. To some degree they did the same thing when the media started looking for “The Next Michael Jordan”. There is never going to be another Michael Jordan. Let people be who they are by allowing them that space of expression and freedom.
During the Rio Olympics I came across this video that I absolutely loved. It was a realization to me that times are changing because Jimmy Butler and Deandre Jordan were arguing about what player they wanted to be like on the Women’s USA National Team. It was a first time I have ever seen men talking about female players in this way. I really enjoyed it!
Congratulations to Sheryl Swoopes on her Hall of Fame Induction! As well as the rest of the 2016 Class of Inductees. Well done!
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