On the 95th Anniversary of the adoption of the 19th amendment, President Barack Obama honored the WNBA – in its 19th season – and the 2014 champions, Phoenix Mercury.
The timing was probably coincidental, but the significance was nothing short of historic.
95 years ago women marched through the streets of Washington D.C. chanting for the equal opportunities and the right to vote. On the very same day that right was granted – the women of the WNBA stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the East Room of the White House and were recognized for championing the rights of women in professional sports.
“They and women across the WNBA are changing the way that young girls, including my daughters, see themselves,” said President Obama during his remarks.
For 19 seasons, with little financial or political power, the players – much like the suffragists – courageously fought opposition.
“We grew up when there wasn’t a WNBA,” said Diana Taurasi while standing on the White House lawn and reflecting on how far the league has come in its 19 seasons.
“There wasn’t a future outside of college to play professional sports – to make a living at a passion that we love, which is basketball.”
Now that the league is a staple of the summer and the players have solidified themselves the best in the world, the latest question to arise is: Has the WNBA come far enough in 19 seasons?
At the start of the playoffs, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, made headlines when he commented that league is not “where we hoped it would be.”
On that same afternoon, I spoke with WNBA president, Laurel J. Richie, who offered her assessment of season 19. During the phone interview, she addressed the new draft lottery format, how she handled the issue of domestic violence, the possibility of expanding the league, and the suspended consideration of Isiah Thomas as an owner. Here are excerpts from our conversation…
Alana Glass: Would you say that you are satisfied with the state of the league in its 19th season?
President Laurel J. Richie: We are excited about our 19th season. If you take a look back in the offseason, between our 18th and our 19th seasons our sponsorship team was hard at work. We introduced some new partners at a league level this year – Pepsi, Nike, Harman, and Kaiser Permanente. We will be up in sponsorship revenue this year versus last year. Our teams brought in new marquee partners – New York with Draft Kings, Connecticut with Frontier, and LA with EquiTrust, and Chicago with Magellan. We had some nice renewals with Finish Line in Indianapolis and Osage in Tulsa.
The competition just keeps getting better and better. The other thing that I noticed when it comes to our game is that we have sort of three generations playing at the same time. The more senior seasoned veterans like Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings who are still forces to be reckoned with on the court. Then sort of a middle generation of Maya Moore, and then a younger generation just coming in with Elena [Delle Donne] and Brittney [Griner]. We are seeing sort of multiple generations who really are coming in at the top of their game.
Glass: The draft lottery has a new format, describe the motivation for the adjustment. What do you hope it will do in terms of distributing talent or assisting teams in need?
President Richie: Every year, when our competition committee meets, we come together and talk about ways in which we can strengthen our game, improve our product, and make sure that we're bringing our fans the very best experience. The change to the lottery, the most significant piece being once the four teams are identified, we look at a 2-year look back at their record versus a 1‑year look back. The thinking behind that was an attempt to ensure that we were doing everything we can to make the game as competitive as possible and bring as much parity across our teams as possible.
Glass: During your All-Star Game remarks to the media, you were asked about expanding the league. At the time, you mentioned an expansion committee is being formed. Has that committee met yet? Are there any existing talks?
President Richie: We are in the process of forming that committee. This will be a committee that meets over probably several years, so this is not a one‑time very quick initiative. This is pulling together a subgroup of our board to work in partnership with all of the wonderful folks here at the league. To pull together a strategy and approach a way of thinking about what expansion might look like, when it would happen, and criteria for new ownership groups and teams joining the league. I’d say it is at a very embryonic stage, but it's an initiative that we are excited about.
Glass: On the team level the Liberty did an amazing job on the court this season under Bill Laimbeer's leadership as well as Isiah Thomas at the helm. From the statement that was released, consideration of Thomas as an owner has been suspended. Do you think that consideration will be revisited next season or during the offseason?
President Richie: I cannot really speculate on that. As of now, the request to add him to the ownership group has been suspended. I haven't had any conversations with anyone that would say differently.
Glass: We saw exciting developments with former players, Lisa Leslie going into the Hall of Fame, Becky Hammon doing a wonderful job coaching in the NBA summer league…
President Richie: …Nancy Lieberman coaching with the Sacramento Kings…
Glass: Yes, that is correct. We’ve seen former players grow and add to the game, what does that say about to the league and the quality of the talent that's being developed in the WNBA?
President Richie: We've had a great summer for women in sports overall, and very specifically for elite women basketball players. Lisa Leslie, I believe is the first player to enter into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in the same year. That is a great testament to the real impact that she's had on the game. Becky Hammon, I can't say it any better than she has and does. When asked, she is always very gracious in saying that the opportunity that she has right now with the San Antonio Spurs would not have been possible without the WNBA; as the place where she honed her basketball I.Q. that made her so attractive to the Spurs. You are always proud when sort of the graduates of your program go on to find new and different and groundbreaking ways to make contributions.
Glass: Earlier in the season, you addressed off-the-court player conduct issues, specifically the issue of domestic violence. You gave what many called a lengthy and thoughtful statement addressing the league's stance. In that statement that there would be education on the league and team level. What type of response have you been getting? How is the education progressing?
President Richie: I did in fact provide a tailor made domestic violence training for team, league, business and basketball and player personnel. I joined our players in San Antonio for their training just to be part of and show my incredible belief in this training and support of it. I will say the response that we have heard across the board has been very positive. It is an important issue; it is one that everyone within our organization takes very seriously. It spurred a lot of dialog both in the sessions themselves and coming out of the sessions. We will continue to look for ways to improve on what we're doing, but we are happy with what transpired this season, from a training standpoint.
As the WNBA concludes its 19th season and enters season 20 (tonight is Game 2 of the Finals 8 pm ET on ESPN 2), expect to hear more from President Richie regarding the business of women's professional basketball and the league's future.
Have something to add to this story? Share it here or comment below.
