Yardbarker: OlympiaScott

A League of Our Own: Why Must WNBA Players Be Compared to Men?

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:47:08 -0500

Over the weekend I read an article titled: "Five Reasons to Believe Women Will Play in the NBA". While the WNBA has struggled to receive national notoriety, respect and fan support, I will admit it is somewhat encouraging to hear NBA commissioner David Stern give women's basketball players respect saying, "sure, I think that's well within the range of probability," regarding women playing in the NBA. Even Dirk Nowitski weighed-in on the subject stating, "Skills-wise, yeah, but physical-wise, it's tough…" At the same token, however, it baffles me that women's basketball players must constantly be compared to men, the WNBA compared to the NBA. It's almost as if we must be able to compete with the men in order to be validated as professional athletes.

I suppose I take issue with this because in no other sport are women constantly compared to their male counterparts. Allison Felix isn't invalidated because she isn't as fast as Usain Bolt. Serena Williams isn't constantly being compared to Roger Federer. Beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor isn't encouraged to go against Phil Dalhausser in order to see if she's really got the goods. Only in basketball are we constantly compared to men. My question is why? Why can't we just be who we are, the best women's basketball players in the world?

Our history of playing basketball is as old as the history of basketball itself, and yet, we've had a rocky road claiming our place in the sports landscape. Here's a truncated version of our journey.

A Very Brief History of Women's Basketball

Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith at a Massachusetts YMCA school. A year later, the first women's basketball team was organized by Senda Berenson, a physical education teacher at Smith College.
In 1896 my alma mater, Stanford won 2-1 in the first intercollegiate women's basketball game vs. University of California at Berkeley. Three years later, however, both Stanford and UC Berkeley banned women's basketball, and thus began women's struggle for the right to play basketball competitively.
In 1908 the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) took the position that women or girls should not play basketball in public.
In 1914 the American Olympic Committee declared its opposition to the participation of women in the Olympics competition.
Women's basketball continued to grow as a sport on various levels, nonetheless, including on the high school level as well as in industrial leagues (teams sponsored by companies for their workers) established in the 1920s in many parts of the country.
In 1924 the Olympics included women's basketball as an exhibition event.
In 1926 the AAU held it's first national tournament for women's basketball with six teams participating.
In the 1930's there were various "barnstorming" (traveling) women's basketball teams that traveled the country playing against men. The most notable were the All American Red Heads.
In 1955 the first Pan-American games were held and women's basketball was included. The US women's team won the gold medal.
In 1970 the five player, full-court game was adopted for women's basketball. Until that time women played a 6-on-6 game where only 3 players from each team were allowed on each half of the court.
June 23, 1972 Title IX was enacted, requiring federally funded schools to fund women's sports equitably, including teams, scholarships and recruitment. Originally the law states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..."
Although in 1936, men's basketball became an official medal sport in the Olympics, it wasn't until 1976 that women's basketball was officially recognized as well.

A Brief History of Women's Professional Basketball

In 1975 the Women's Professional Basketball Association was founded and disbanded before the season started.
In 1978, the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) was founded and played 3 seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. This is considered to be the United States' first professional women's basketball league.
In 1980 the Ladies Professional Basketball Association was founded with six teams. It folded only a month into it's first season.
In 1984 the Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) was founded by Bill Byrne hoping to cash in on the success of the 1984 gold medal winning U.S. Olympic team. There were six teams and lasted one season.
The National Women's Basketball Association was formed and disbanded before the season in 1986.
In 1991 the Liberty Basketball Association (LBA) was founded and lasted only one game.
The Women's Basketball Association (WBA) formed in 1992 and played three summer seasons 1993 to 1995. The league played a 15 game schedule and the games were broadcast on Liberty Sports of Dallas. When FOX Sports bought Liberty Sports and the WBA, they disbanded the league.
The American Basketball League (ABL) was founded in 1996 with 10 teams and played during the traditional basketball season. It folded during its third season Dec. 22, 1998.
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league began play in the summer of 1997. It's season goes from June to September. The league began with 8 teams and currently has 12 or 13 (depending on whether Sacramento will move to another Bay Area city or just fold). The WNBA's 14th season is set to begin the summer of 2010.

I provided this brief history, including several failed professional women's basketball leagues, to set the framework for what I believe our focus regarding women's basketball should actually be: we need a successful league of our own. We don't need to try and play in the NBA to prove we are great players. We need the WNBA to prove itself a thriving professional league that will be sustained for generations to come, just as the men's professional sports leagues have. Our daughters need great professional players to model their game after, just as our sons have. It's imperative that we stop comparing the women's game to the men and allow women's basketball players to be just that…women's basketball players.

Article originally posted on OlympiaHoops.com

Thanksgiving and Showing Gratitude

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:53:22 -0500

When we think of Thanksgiving, immediately images of families feasting fill our heads. Although many will loosen their belts to accommodate ample servings, the holiday is special because of the families and friends coming together to contribute to this feast in a "potluck" fashion. It is a time of community and celebration.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season in a wonderful way. Before our children begin to make their Christmas lists of wants from Santa, they have an opportunity to list what they are already thankful for. As parents, we are also in this inspiring position. As the stress of the financial strain of the holiday season begins to set-in, we may evaluate all that is good in our lives, and maybe some of the blessings that we take for granted on a daily basis.

Although Thanksgiving inspires this mood, giving thanks, or showing gratitude should be focused upon more than just one time of year. Psychological research shows that those that express gratitude tend to be happier, more optimistic and more successful in achieving goals (Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness).

As a parents, this information is profound, because we may help foster happiness, optimism and achievement in our children by assisting them in practicing gratitude on a regular basis. Thanksgiving may mark the beginning of this practice, and hopefully, it may become a regular exercise in which your family may participate together.

Personally, after becoming aware of this research, I decided to take time once or twice or week to document something that I am grateful for. I realized that a few of the difficult issues I was dealing with seemed to have less of a negative impact, and even my perspective on these situations changed.

I am grateful for so many things in my life including:

Knowing and loving God.
My loving family--my mother and father, sister Tres and brother Stephen, my fiancé Rock, and my wonderful daughter, BreAzia.
My health--I have degenerative arthritis in my knees, but by the grace of God, I am still playing professional basketball at a high level.
Good friends--those that I grew up with that have stayed the course, although I am always gone playing basketball worldwide, teammates and former teammates that I have gained a special bond with, and online friends that I have come to know through Twitter, Facebook and SPSN.
A sense of purpose--I am a passionate person, and I appreciate being able to work in fields that I am extremely passionate about like playing basketball and winning championships and developing and running Super Parenting LLC.

I would love to hear some of the things that you are thankful for in the comments. Remember research shows you'll be happier for it. LOL

Take care, and Happy Thanksgiving!

(Originally posted on my personal website here: OlympiaHoops.com)

What's up Yardbarkers!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:42:04 -0500

What's up Yardbarkers? I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, and thank you for reading my blog. I'm Olympia Scott, #0, a 10 year veteran in the WNBA, and first woman in history to win 2 WNBA Championships with 2 different teams, doing so in 2005 with the Sacramento Monarchs and again in 2007 with the Phoenix Mercury. This year I'm taking the summer off to rest and recharge. I'll be playing overseas again this fall and maybe in the WNBA next summer. For more of a detailed bio, you can read about me on my website OlympiaHoops.com. Here's a link to that page on my personal site. You can also follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/olympiahoops.

I really look forward to participating in this sea of sports appreciation here at Yardbarker. I'm new and I'm trying to feel my way around, so please bear with me.

I'll keep it short and sweet this time around...just wanted to say hello and, I hope I see you around sometime.

Olympia Scott
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Website: OlympiaHoops.com
Podcast: OlympiaTV.net

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Luck is when PREPARATION meets OPPORTUNITY!