Why is the WNBA so Disrespected?

If I were to ask you to think of a basketball player at the top of your head, I’m going to go ahead and assume that player you are thinking of is a male. That’s the way it has always been, but why? Honestly, I don’t know why, but it is definitely not fair. Women work just as hard as men to achieve their dreams, and once they do they’re barely recognized for it.

Breanna Stewart…I’m sure that name rang a bell. How about Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi???

Let’s look at Maya Moore for example. First off if you call yourself a basketball fan in this era and don’t know Maya Moore, you may want to check yourself. Maya has been considered the LeBron James for women’s basketball, and yet she still feels as if everything she’s accomplished is invisible. She is one of the biggest stars in the WNBA and yet she feels she goes unnoticed because she is a women in “a man’s game”.

The WNBA season is much shorter, and the female athletes get paid considerably less, and with players leaving to continue their season overseas, who knows how long the WNBA will survive.

So the question is and will always be, why is it like this?

One thing is for sure, if I was the WNBA commissioner; how we showcase the league would be different. If you turn your TV on at night, you are bound to find at least 1, probably more NBA games on. Even women’s College Basketball is televised more than the professionals. So, the first step would be to get the best teams on TV as much as possible. Fans don’t really care about anything that happens off the court, as a true basketball fan myself, I just want to watch a good game; men or women.

What the fans want is what is going to be televised. The NBA gets almost $100 million from ESPN and TNT…while the WNBA gets about $25 million. The main problem for the WNBA is the fan base, which I realize won’t change overnight. Not only does it lack the attention of men, but women as well. Yeah 75% of the WNBA’s viewers are women, but that doesn’t even come close to the amount of women who watch the NBA. The only way the WNBA is going to gain fans is how they market themselves. Focus on showcasing the star players to get people’s attention, eventually a sports station will put more and more games on, and before you know it people are watching professional women’s basketball again. I know this seems like a pipe dream, but anything can happen.

The WNBA has been around now for 2 decades, and still struggles for recognition. Why can’t women get the same respect and attention like men do? Sports have always been viewed as manly, but here’s a reality check….women can do the same things as men. Shocker, right?

I hope the WNBA can solve their problem. It would be a shame to have such a global and fascinating game be taken away from women who can play it just as good as the men.

Written by Kristen Connors