The WNBA - Women's Basketball will Never be the Same
I know I will never forget my first WNBA basketball game. It was the inaugural season, the inaugural game in Madison Square Garden, June 27, 1997. The president of the WNBA Val Ackerman tossed the ball up in center court as cameras recorded Kim Hampton of the New York Liberty and Lisa Leslie of the L.A. Sparks reached to tip the ball. This was a huge event and the crowd's noise level was a complete acknowledgement of that fact. Madison Square Garden was packed, the lights went out and the screams got louder; this was history.
The announcement of the WNBA came with mixed regards. There were those who thought that it took the United States long enough, and there were those who did not understand the point of having a professional women's basketball team. I find myself to this day defending the ideas many have about women's basketball - collegiate and otherwise. The regular comments are: 'It's too slow!' 'The scores are so low!' 'There's nothing to watch!' 'They don't dunk!' All the silly ignorant comments. My male cousin still refuses to even watch a game; he just doesn't see the point. My sentiments were more in regard to the amount it took for the WNBA to be formed. As a young basketball player I shared the dream of becoming the first woman in the NBA. (There had to be some goal!) Although those before me, possessing the greater talent were not able to do it, perhaps they were simply paving the way for me. I continued with the basketball camps, the leagues, and the school teams. I was eventually astonished to learn that there actually existed a Professional Women's basketball league. The only problem was that it was an ocean and a couple time zones away. I did not unders...
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...d businesses. There was finally a women's basketball league, but the salary of the league alone could not support its players. The women were out there on the court for fun all over again. But it did not seem to bother the players. They were having fun living their dream.
The WNBA is a young organization so there is room for improvement. If the first year were perfect than there would leave no room for improvement. The social and cultural benefits of the league's creation cannot be ignored. Women's basketball will never be the same. I trust that the success of the WNBA will spawn the creation of more forums where collegiate women can pursue their professional career. The most talented young girls hope to find themselves in the draft heading to one of the WNBA teams. Unfortunately, they simultaneously have to fill out job applications and buy that interview suit.
Although Title IX states than, "no person in the United States, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to any discrimination..." it does not guarantee that people will carry this out. After the issuing of Title IX, many women in sports wished to step forward and be recognized. Part of the recognition they wanted was to be included in National Sports Associations like the men's National Basketball Association. Eventually their cries were heard, and sports associations like the NBA agreed to merge and include women. Becoming included was an eye opening experience to many of these women and they have faced (and still do) doubts and discrimination from the public, but along the way they have also reaped benefits they would not have if the merger had never taken place.
Before we told our daughters that they could be anyone, or anything they wanted to be, we told them that they could only be what was acceptable for women to be, and that they could only do things that were considered "ladylike." It was at this time, when the nation was frenzied with the business of war, that the women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League decided that they could do and be whatever it was that they chose. These women broke free of the limitations that their family and society had set for them, and publicly broke into what had been an exclusively male sport up until that time.
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports, heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports.
" An Overview of Stem Cell Research | The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity."
Embryonic stem cells research has challenged the moral ethics within human beings simply because the point at which one is considered a “human,” is still under debate and practically incapable to make a decision upon.
Stem cell research is a heavily debated topic that can stir trouble in even the tightest of Thanksgiving tables. The use cells found in the cells of embryos to replicate dead or dying cells is a truly baffling thought. To many, stem cell research has the potential to be Holy Grail of modern medicine. To many others, it is ultimately an unethical concept regardless of its capabilities. Due to how divided people are on the topic of stem cell research, its legality and acceptance are different everywhere. According to Utilitarianism, stem cell research should be permitted due to the amount of people it can save, however according to the Divine Command of Christianity, the means of collecting said stem cells are immoral and forbidden.
Siegel, A. (2008). Ethics of Stem Cell Research. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/stem-cells/.
Full-Court Quest is not only the story of ten remarkable American Indian girls who would go on to win the 1904 women’s basketball World Championship, but also profiles the development of basketball, the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, and the impact of off-reservation boarding school education efforts by the U.S. government. Even though this book shows many different aspects of the ways of Native American living, the main feature the Fort Shaw basketball girls were trying to present to their peers was that basketball wasn’t just a game to play for fun. Basketball was a competitive game that they believed was a huge part of their lives and wanted the public to be a part of it as well; may it be playing the game with them or on the sidelines watching and supporting them.
Frantz, Chris. "Timeline: Women in Sports." Infoplease/Pearson Education,, 2007. Web. Lombardo, John. "New President Aims to Widen WNBA’s Fan Base." SportsBusiness Daily, 30 May 2011..
It has taken many years for women to gain a semblance of equality in sports. Throughout history, women have been both excluded from playing sports and discriminated against in sports. Men’s sports have always dominated the college athletic field, but women were finally given a fighting chance after Title IX was passed. Title IX, among other things, requires scholarships to be equally proportioned between men and women’s sports. Although this was a huge gain for women, gender inequality still exists in sports today. An example of this persisting inequality can be seen when looking at men’s baseball and women’s softball. In college, baseball and softball are both major NCAA sports. It is widely accepted throughout today’s society that baseball is a man’s sport, and softball is a woman’s sport. Very few people question why the two sexes are separated into two different sports, or wonder why women play softball instead of baseball. Fewer people know that women have been essentially excluded from playing baseball for a long time. This paper will focus on why softball has not changed the way women’s basketball has, why women continue to play softball, the possibilities and dynamics of women playing baseball with and without men, and the most discriminating aspect of women being banned from playing professional baseball.
Weaknesses Poor management of player relations. Deteriorating brand image of certain players. Little to no control of the players off the court. The goal of creating a fair playing field among big and small market teams has led to too many regulations. Few superstar talents to draw fan attention/loyalty.
Within the past few years, scientist have made several breakthroughs with human stem cells. These breakthroughs have catapulted the issue of stem cell research into the middle of a national debate. Most people have no problem with the research itself, however the source of the stem cells (adult or human embryos) used in research is the primary cause of the debate. Some people feel that destroying an embryo is comparable to murder, even if the research it promotes may help people with serious illnesses. Other believe that an embryo is not a person and therefore research on an embryo is the same as research on any other group of cells.
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a rarely diagnosed but thought to be one of the more common personality disorders. Individuals with this disorder are often excessively emotional and attention-seeking. They thrive on being the center of attention. “They commandeer the role of ‘life of the party’” (American Psychological Association, 2013, pg. 667). However, they tend to stay on the surface and lack much depth in their emotions and opinions and this can cause problems for them throughout their lives. It is important to understand the symptoms, etiology, course, prevalence, assessment and treatment of histrionic personality disorder before taking on a client, or working with this population.
The American Psychiatric Association defines Histrionic Personality Disorder as a pervasive pattern of the excessive emotionally and attention seeking behavior. HPD is a cluster B personality disorder (inclusive of antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders) with onset at or before adolescence characterized by persistent patterns of dysfunctional behavior (excessive emotionality & attention seeking) deviating from one's culture and social environment that lead to functional impairment and distress to the individual and those who have regular interaction with the individual (Harper, 2004). The behaviors of a HPD patient are perceived to be "normal" and "right" and having little insight as to their responsibility for these behaviors.
Throughout history, it is easy to recognize how African Americans have triumphed in sports. It is also enlightening and empowering to see and recognize the challenges that women faced in the past with achieving recognition in sports as compared to that of men.