Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 2:03 pm  |  19 responses

Women’s Basketball Doesn’t Need Justification

The game speaks for itself.

by Ben York / @bjyork

“April, 2011: the month that women’s college basketball caught up to men’s college basketball.” – Bill Simmons via Twitter, April 4, 2011

Hi, Bill. My name is Earth. Have we met?

Let’s see if I’m understanding this correctly; the Butler vs. UConn national championship game featured two teams combining for 94 total points, 88 missed shots, 17 turnovers, and field-goal percentages of 18 and 36 respectively…and that means the women’s game has finally caught up to the men’s?

Ironically, he (along with thousands of others who have said similar things in the past 24 hours) probably meant it as a compliment.

That’s like when my dad told me after a game during my sophomore year of high school that I played better than Brett, our star player.

Thanks, dad. Brett was actually high on weed and left the game in the second quarter to throw up/pass out in the bathroom…but I appreciate the kind words.

Why in the world would any female basketball player with a soul feel good about a back-handed compliment like that?

Would you?

In Simmons’ defense, he wasn’t the only person who made such a statement. Thousands of tweets included condescending messages (though, probably inadvertent) of how the women’s national championship game will undoubtedly be a better watch.

Do you not see the problem here? It’s like saying, “My goodness, I know it’s hard to believe but, golly, I bet even the lowly women will shoot better than Butler did (chuckle, chuckle, nudge, nudge). They could teach the vastly superior men a thing or two. <insert a thousand stereotypical comments on traditional gender roles here>.”

This type of attitude and preconceived notion has constantly plagued women’s basketball over the years. Seemingly, through faulty comparisons, for the women to ”catch up” to the men’s game it’s not going to be from the evolution of women’s basketball, but rather men’s basketball taking a huge step backward.

Why do we feel the need to compare the two?

It has become increasingly apparent that the comparisons of the men’s game to the women’s game are inevitable and something we can’t avoid. And while it’s great that so many people are jumping on the bandwagon to watch the women’s national championship game, it’s disappointing that it is being compared to the men’s game in general; it is an entirely different game and neither is better than the other.

Let me be clear about something – the women’s game doesn’t have to prove itself, validate itself, or justify itself to anyone. We don’t need an abysmal men’s NCAA championship game to feel better about the state of women’s basketball. The women’s national championship game between Notre Dame and Texas A&M (and, for that matter, the entire women’s tournament) is going to be/has been phenomenal from top to bottom and has showcased the growth of the women’s game spectacularly.

It makes no difference if the men’s national championship game between UConn and Butler was regarded as one of the best in history as opposed to one of the worst; correlation does not mean causation.

Ultimately, the problem lies deep within individuals wanting to believe that women’s basketball is “less than.” If that’s the case, you’ll look for reasons to prove your point rather than simply watch the beauty of the game. Whether this stems from a place of fear or something else isn’t always known. If you want to believe that your high school team could beat a WNBA team or that you could take a WNBA player one-on-one, you’ll believe it and come up with ways to justify it.

It’s easy to do.

So, when you watch the women’s national championship game between Notre Dame and Texas A&M tonight, try not to let the feelings creep in of making it “better than” or “less than” anything else.

Basketball is basketball; enjoy it.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , ,

  • Greg

    Women’s Basketball Doesn’t Need Justification…
    …but I’m going to write this column to defend it anyways.

    Basketball is basketball, but there are some forms of the game that are more enjoyable than others. The games are always going to be compared to each other, and the diminished athleticism of the woman’s game leaves them coming up short.

  • http://slamonline.com Ben York

    @Greg – There is a difference between defending it and justifying it. Also, in your opinion, they come up short. Not everyone shares your sentiment.

  • http://www.wnbaguy.com Alex

    Greg – I’m curious about your argument. You state that basketball is basketball, but immediately contradict yourself by then stating that some forms of the game are more enjoyable than others. Doesn’t that in itself mean that basketball is not really basketball because of this difference? The “diminished athleticism” of the women’s game that you refer to is not a reality, but a narrow perception, based on zero fact. The two games are always going to be compared because people like you can’t seem to find a solid point in which to argue on the women’s game alone. I will admit though, the “coming up short” was a nice play on words. Pat yourself on the back Greg, well done.

  • http://www.slamonline.com c_cantrell

    ^greg..
    your a funny guy bro

  • GK

    @Ben I don’t thinks it’s debatable that the women’s game has less athleticism, but whether that makes it inferior is opinion. But to me it’s analgous to NASCAR (even though I’m not a fan): going slower just makes it boring everyday traffic.

    @Alex I wasn’t contradicting myself. All basketball is basketball, but it’s not all equal quality (see Orwell, we are all equal, some are just more equal than others).

    I also don’t think it’s debatable that, on average/in general, women basketball players are slower, weaker, and possess less jumping ability than their male counterparts. And while that is a fact, I suppose whether or not that makes it a less exciting game is up to individuals.

  • 2KInsider

    Bill Simmons was telling a joke. People with a sense of humor understand this. He makes 100 NBA jokes for every womens basketball joke. Most of what he calls “sports hate” is directed at Kobe. Being a Kobe fan with a sense of humor, I can laugh at those jokes as well.

  • http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bulls-talk/2011 Diesel

    Ben, does it ever get hard trying to think of new ways to write the same article over and over and over again?

  • http://www.chicagoskyblog.wordpress.com hoopla

    maaaan, women’s basketball fans need to loosen up and stop being so darn defensive all the time! I hate whiney articles like this so much…they do more harm than good. Women’s bball will be fine if the players continue to ball out on the court and if their fans can stop annoying the general public by begging for acceptance and respect all the damn time.

  • norwester

    Yeah! How dare fans demand respect for their teams. Why…that makes them…Fanatics! What’s next? Peanut butter and jelly?

    On a more serious note, I appreciate that Ben is out there defending women’s basketball. Even if we don’t always agree on the way he executes it.

    Re: Bill Simmons – It’s always more dicey to make jokes about an already much-maligned minority (that in most mainstream–read: male–sports cases receives no respect), which is why jokes about Kobe (who has plenty of respect as a baller) can be funnier than jokes about women’s basketball. There’s a reason for the “thin skin”.

    I like basketball, but after a steady diet of women’s basketball, I’m always struck by how giant the men are, and how they clog up a court. There’s more power in the men’s game, but the game doesn’t seem faster or more athletic to me, relative to size. I’m much more used to the spacing and space on a women’s basketball court (due to the average player being smaller). I mean, by and large no kidding that a man can dunk…he’s practically at the rim already! It’s a weird dichotomy, but I can see how it would take a fan of exclusively men’s basketball a while to adjust to the different game of women’s basketball, because I’ve had the same issue in reverse.

  • http://Philosophervision@blogspot.com The Philosopher

    Ben York always delivers the goods.

  • Groves

    Ben, i respect what your doing and i enjoy watching a lot of different leagues around the world (NBA, NBL, WNBA, Euroleague, WNBL, D-league) but every month or so you come out with another post saying the same thing, that the womens game doesn’t need justification, we get it, you defend it the same way each time, if people don’t get it by now then let them go. The fact is your constant repetition of the same old message is getting monotonous

  • 2KInsider

    Slamonline needs a new blog called “Ben is mad at Bill again.” Can I write it?

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ben York

    @2KInsider – If you wrote it, I’d read it.

  • 2KInsider

    @Ben- I actually respect your work and what you consistently stand for. I think that the problem occurs because there is a great difficulty in balancing a simple game with equality in life. Sports have a mindset of the strong overpowering the week with no sympathy. That is part of the appeal for many people. Then there is the other side of sports that deals with the players getting equal treatment as human beings which you represent. Sometimes it’s hard for me to go from enjoying sports for what they are on the surface and then shifting to how these athletes feel as humans. If it wasn’t for you, I might not ever take time to think about that. Your voice is important and it is good that Slam gives you the platform to speak it.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    The idea that the men’s game is better than the women’s game is an opinion. The idea that the men’s game is played at a different level as far as individual physical talent is a fact.
    I really only watch the NBA. I don’t find any other level of basketball that interesting because of the dropoff in physical talent.
    However I do understand defending something you care about and I say do your thing. I would encourage you to maintain that same attitude of nderstanding when other people consistently defend those things they hold dear that you may not find as serious or interestng.
    And Bill Summons stopped putting any effort into his jokes years ago. At his point he is just on autopilot which is why the same themes keep popping.up.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ben York

    @2KInsider – Thanks for the kind words, fam. Appreciate it.

  • Gary

    Stop being so sensitive. According to you no one can ever criticize womens basketball. America is about freedom of speech. If I think it sucks,I have a constitutional right to vocalize that opinion. Dweebs like you, who are in ridiculous denial regarding the quality of play with women’s basketball are being less than forthright.
    You can’t honestly tell me that if you purchased a ticket for a basketball game and could choose between an NBA or wnba game you would choose the wnba game. If you say you would , you are lying. Stop being surprised that attendance sucks at womens games,stop being surprised that ratings suck, stop the insanity.

  • http://members.cox.net/pilight/ pilight

    Saying that WBB doesn’t need justification is saying that this entire article is unnecessary. Which it is.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ben York

    The article absolutely is necessary, @pilight. Maybe you’re content with letting stuff like this happen. That’s fine. I’m not.

Advertisement
Fullcourt.com