June 22, 2005, - 9:07 pm
When WNBA Players Attack: WNBA’er Article Vs. Me in Arizona Republic
By Debbie Schlussel
The she-males in the WNBA sideshow just can’t take it. First, I received a “creative” . Now, it is Mercury player Kayte Christensen, who is so bothered by my , she’s written an anti-Debbie-Schlussel-anti-WNBA column in the Arizona Republic.
But apparently Christensen needs to go back to school to learn how to read. She claims that I take “credit away from a female trying to succeed in a man’s world.” I do? Where? In my anti-WNBA column, I give credit for Danica Patrick for doing exactly that. How many WNBA players play against men? Well, that may be a trick question, because there actually may be a lot of male WNBA players–based on appearance, anyway. But I refer to real men in my column and point out that the WNBA players do NOT compete against men, but whine for not getting equal pay, respect, attention, ratings, ticket sales, endorsements, yadda, yadda, yadda. If they wanted to succeed “in a man’s world,” WNBA players would try-out for the NBA and not have their own league.
Christensen also defends her teammate Anna DeForge, who had a lesbian relationship with her coach in exchange for more playing time, as a great role model for America’s kids. Sleeping with the boss to get ahead–great role model, Kayte. Puh-leeze.
Christensen is mad that women in sports are judged by looks when men are judged only on performance. That’s not really true–a female sports columnist wrote about her lust for LA Dodger Shawn Green’s “jewels” in the locker room, and Major League Baseball player Gabe Kapler was regularly praised for his muscular physique, more often than his baseball swing. But even when it is true, get a clue. As I, again, wrote in my column, sports is showbiz. Looks count. In men’s sports, men want to be them, and women want to date (euphemism) them. In women’s sports, unless you look like Anna Kournikova or Danica Patrick, there won’t be that dynamic–unless you count the lesbian audience, and you can’t build a sports league on that minute customer base. Sorry, Kayte.
Finally, Christensen claims that David Stern and the NBA are still supporting the WNBA after 8 money-hemorrhaging seasons because they want the league “to succeed in all realms, not just financially.” As in any business, there is only one measure of success in sports–the bottom line. If they want to be equal to the men, why do they demand a different yardstick to measure them?
Christensen joins another critic of my WNBA column, my cousin and aspiring teen columnist, Mallory Greitzer, who also critiqued the column in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Mallory’s was far better than Kayte’s, but Kayte and Mallory, thanks for spelling my name right.
Tags: America, Anna DeForge, Anna Kournikova, Arizona Republic, Assistant Head Coach, baseball, coach, cousin and aspiring teen columnist, Danica Patrick, David Stern, female sports columnist, Gabe Kapler, great role model, Julie Brase, Kayte Christensen, League Baseball player, Lute Olson, Major, Major League Baseball, Mallory Greitzer, National Basketball Association, NBA, Phoenix Mercury, player, Rochester, role model, Shawn Green, The Arizona Republic
“How many WNBA players play against men? Well, that may be a trick question, because there actually may be a lot of male WNBA players–based on appearance, anyway.”
Alright, that line just made me spit coffee into my keyboard. You owe me 1 keyboard.
Preston Taylor Holmes on June 23, 2005 at 8:07 am