After Atalanta

Yes, all of those things are connected and I had intended to write about this issue earlier--specifically in June when the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury played on the 24th. It was a...contentious game. There was a lot of chirping, some meme-able finger pointing, and after the game, upon league review, a Flagrant 2 foul for Alyssa Thomas that resulted in a one-game suspension. [I assume a fine as well but not sure how much. A player is assessed a $500 fine for a technical.] And then all hell broke loose when replays and slo-mos and up-close angles that were not available during the game showed Thomas's fist on Caitlin Clark's neck while Clark was on the floor, on her back trying to retain control of the ball.  The vitriol was immediate and completely disproportionate [and I am saying this as someone who still holds Thomas responsible for taking out the star (Napheesa Collier) of my favorite team (Lynx) in last year's playoffs]. The reaction itself became a story. So fina...

 Though the Supreme Court ruling allowing states to ban trans girls and women from school-sponsored sports was not surprising, it is disappointing. We can know something horrible and frightening and violent is coming and still be sad and angry and despondent when it arrives. (Remember those months between the 2024 election and the inauguration??) As many have said in the lead up to this case and the intervening months since the arguments and now that the decision has been released, it is children who will suffer the most from this decision. I wonder if starkness of this discrimination is greater now that the ruling has been issued? Will anyone pause and say: wait, we allow every other kid to play sports regardless of ability and differences* in biology, but not these kids because we hold certain (unfounded) beliefs about what they can do? The complete obfuscation of the range of human abilities that are based on SO MANY factors that are impossible to disaggregate by the court is as...

 Watching the semi-final between Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk, I am struck by how they both have women coaches to whom they are not related (i.e., their mothers are not coaching them, though Kostyuk's mother was her coach until 2022). I wonder how often this happens? From my fairly faithful watching of tennis, I would guess not often. But I have not run the numbers. I am also watching the Women's College World Series the final of which pits Texas against Texas Tech. I am not rooting for either team (I am just in it for the softball which has been good. I stopped having a favorite when UCLA was eliminated.) Both those teams feature men coaches. And no one talks about this, that I have heard anyway. (I am less faithful watcher of DI softball until regionals come around every May.) I know Texas coach Mike White is a former softball player, so at least he has played the game at a high level.  And then there are the ongoing conversations in the WNBA this season about the behavi...

 A broad title, but it is finals week and grading has crushed my creativity. More accurately, I want to discuss the power of the contemporary Black athlete. In full transparency, and given that the current system(s) still favor (while simultaneously exploiting) Black men athletes, I am mostly talking about men. That being said [aside coming]...in the last week of my Sport, Race, and Ethnicity course, we talk about athlete activism past and present and the materials I use discuss both men and women. The podcast Throughline has an episode called On the Shoulders of Giants that starts with boxer Jack Johnson before discussing the activism [the podcast uses the term protest] of runner Wilma Rudolph, and basketball player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.* I pair this with an article about the WNBA's campaign to unseat (she had been appointed by the governor following a resignation) former Atlanta Dream team owner Kelly Loeffler in the 2020/21 special election for a Senate seat.  This is all to...

How long have you been covering women's basketball?  The weirdness around Azzi Fudd being drafted to the Wings and thus rejoining her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers, is perplexing. The commentators at the draft and the press room afterwards did not mention the relationship, rather they asked Fudd about being back with her teammate.  How was this not discussed beforehand? Was Fudd prepped? It is clear Dallas was not prepped. A team rep at the press conference with Fudd, who was asked about her romantic relationship with Bueckers, shut down that questioning, leaving Fudd with an odd expression on her face. Hope folks figure this out soon--it is not as if they haven't had over a year to prepare.  Also, we should remember that these are 20-somethings.  The Coach of UConn Speaking of the past year...UConn had a stellar season before losing to South Carolina in the tournament semifinals. Will the season be remembered or will it be the loss--which was marked by atrocious behavi...

 One of my favorite podcasts, P op Culture Happy Hou r, does a weekly segment on Fridays when all panelists/hosts are asked what is making them happy this week. I find it both enjoyable to listen to and am reminded that this practice that should be more widely undertaken.  So this week, what is making me happy is Elana Meyers Taylor and her gold medal win in monobob at the Milano Cortina Olympics. This win makes her a six-time medalist (with one event to go)--and the most decorated woman bobsledder.  Sidebar: I was slightly disturbed, when looking for stories to link, to find this one from Savannah with the headline Who is Elana Meyers Taylor? Le sigh, Georgia. [Also, it is getting more and more difficult to find media outlets to link to that don't make me ill, and I still feel like I am not doing a great job at this. Still, FU CBS. No clicks for you!] This USA Today piece provides some history on her athletic career--including how she got into bobsled--and her legacy. ...