When the WNBA is in the headlines, something big has happened. With labor disputes rising up between players and David Stern, the WNBA faces an uncertain future. Having already gotten their 2003 draft cancelled, the upcoming season looks bleak for the young league, as does anything beyond that. As it enters its seventh season, the WNBA may already be on the brink of collapse, joining its predecessor, the American Basketball League, in a bold but doomed attempt to promote women’s basketball.
Now, just how popular is the WNBA? Here’s a little quiz to share with your friends.
Name all 16 teams. How many games do each team play? When does the WNBA play? Who was last season’s league MVP? Who was last season’s #1 draft pick? Who won the championship series? Name two networks that carry WNBA games.
Can’t answer them, can you? Many can’t. The league has been around since 1997, yet it still gets covered like a middle school basketball game. The fact is, the WNBA can’t expect the revenue of other sports with the kind of coverage it gets. You could probably name more athletes that receive bigger long-term contracts than the WNBA’s revenue than you could WNBA players.
I have nothing against the WNBA, but one has to admit that a league that’s already suffering this soon is looking at tough times ahead. True, the NBA suffered setbacks in its early years too, but as the play became more exciting (Dunks!) and the days of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell came around, the NBA became one of the hottest organizations in sports. The WNBA has big names from the days of the Women’s Olympic basketball teams, but you won’t hear them unless they’re thrown in your face. Even some of the biggest stars in the WNBA are still nameless in the public’s eyes.
There have been plenty of precautions taken towards opening the doors to a successful league. All teams were originally located in cities where NBA teams played, giving them more exposure (Charlotte was left alone after the Hornets moved to New Orleans). Many of the brightest stars in women’s basketball joined the league, including Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie, just to name a few. Still, as time passed and ratings stagnated, efforts began to lose their reasonability. Recently, things got so desperate they even started considering selling the WNBA with “sex appeal,” apparently losing their grasp on the fact that these are athletes, not supermodels. Despite everything done, the WNBA as
a whole still can’t eclipse the $100 million mark in total revenue. It’s no wonder then that players are complaining about salaries, though with revenue like that it doesn’t look there will be any raises soon.
Even ESPN doesn’t give the WNBA much publicity. If you can manage to find the WNBA section (It’s thereÃunder “More Sports”), you’ll find their headlines talking about the labor dispute, with many of their featured topics still dating back to February and January. Want to look up a player? ESPN doesn’t keep the career records. Just want to the league leaders in points or rebounds? Nope. Sure, you can go to WNBA.com, but we’re talking about the world-wide leader in sports, here. If ESPN can’t or won’t cover the WNBA, how much more publicity can it earn?
As bleak as things look, there is still hope for the WNBA. If labor issues can be settled, the league can commence before too much damage is done. From there, it will be a long road of promotion and player/league evolution before the WNBA can find its way into the homes of sports fans. Even if the WNBA falls, plans for a new league will not doubt find their way to the table sometime afterwards. No matter what happens, one thing is for sure; the future for women’s basketball is far from over.