Changing Perspective

Responses and Feelings of Basketball Fans Hey everyone, it’s Diamond and I am back with another blog post! In my recent blog post, i talked about how the WNBA doesn't receive as much recognition or attention as the NBA. Well, this time, I interviewed a few people who explained how they felt towards the WNBA and just women’s basketball in general. We are very aware that the WNBA does not get paid as much as the NBA. There is a huge issue with equal payment with the NBA and the WNBA. There is also an issue with equal recognition and publicity. Simply, the majority of sports fans simply don't crave women's professional basketball because they are women. If you want to know why, continue reading. A picture of a basketball going through a net. When most men watch basketball, they look for aggressiveness and competition. Apparently, the WNBA doesn’t have neither. Fortunately, there is a small fraction of people in the world who supports the WNBA on the daily whether they demonstrate aggressiveness or not. This small fraction looks at basketball differently then others. They look beyond the flying 360 dunks and and focus on the fundamentals being played in the game. Youth coach, Maleek Griffin told me he “Hates the NBA.” “I don’t enjoy watching the NBA because I coach basketball. It’s very difficult to coach basketball when my youth is turning on their TV’s and seeing their favorite player break every rule in basketball. From passing with one hand, to traveling, and launching threes resulting in not holding their follow through. Once the see that, they imitate them, and it is very hard to break them out of that habit.” Most youth basketball players think that if they can imitate what ever is on TV, that they are just as good. That is not the case at all. In order to be a great player, you have to practice the fundamentals of basketball. The WNBA may not have dunks and half court shots, but they do have good fundamentals.” Most people can sit through a WNBA game, but they won’t be as astounded as they would be sitting through an NBA game. According to Douglas Williams, a former basketball player, the NBA is exiting and entertaining. Douglas has a daughter that plays basketball. When I asked him who his favorite NBA team was, he stated it with no hesitation. When I asked him who his favorite WNBA team was, he had trouble thinking of a name. I also asked Douglas if he supported the WNBA since his daughter plays girls basketball, and he hit me with an unexpected response. “No I do not support the WNBA on the daily. One, they don’t receive as much TV time and social media attention for me to know anything. You also need a WNBA subscription to watch WNBA games whereas the NBA comes on frequently on all sport networks. If my daughter makes it into the WNBA, i’ll get a description.” Maleek and Douglas had different opinions towards the WNBA, but they both said something very similar. “This world is sexist!” Both men explained how men think females can’t do anything as well as men. Women are expected to be nurses or teachers. When men hear things such as women's basketball, they automatically assume that the game is going to be less aggressive and interesting than an NBA game. That is what I want to stop! I plan on raising awareness by making an instagram hashtag. With that instagram hashtag, I will send it to all my friends and tell them to post and share the hashtag, The person with the most likes, gets a prize. I believe raising awareness on social media is the best way for people to know whats going on. Most teenagers don’t watch the news or read newspapers. They gather information through apps like instagram and snap chat. I would like to see everyone receive the recognition they earn. People, especially women, work too hard to be underestimated and underpaid. For my annotated bibliography, please click here.