Don Nelson died last weekend. Most basketball fans recall him for his highly successful coaching career in the NBA; his teams won over 1300 games, and he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a coach. Some of us are old enough to recall that he also had an 11-year career as an NBA player in the 1960s and 70s and was on five of the Celtics’ championship teams of that era.
Rest in peace, Don Nelson.
Sticking with basketball for a moment, the WNBA needs to find its way out of a sticky situation of its own making. In its attempts to welcome all flavors of fans and participants, the league has become embroiled in the controversy of “trans women playing in women’s sports”. As I have argued before, allowing post-pubescent males who have transitioned to female status to compete against women in sports that involve strength and speed is to put ciswomen at a disadvantage. What makes this issue dicey is that some folks believe that a simple declaration by a male that he sees himself as a woman and wants to project himself as a woman is sufficient for him to “qualify” as a woman.
Well, two former NBA players have said they are going to declare for the WNBA Draft next year and assert their womanhood as the basis for them being drafted. Their NBA days are well in the past, but they are larger than WNBA players (6’8” – 6’10”) and about 260 lbs. Ignoring any ideas about dominating play in WNBA games, their size and strength would raise the possibility of injury to women players significantly; these men are double the weight of some WNBA players.
The league is holding meetings and consultations to decide what it should do. I think the end result ought to recognize the physical realities of men’s basketball and women’s basketball as the same sport but different games. The CBA under which the WNBA exists states that the league is for women; what the league now needs to do is to define what it believes a woman is and that plays against a backdrop of high emotion when considering the issue.
Given that the league has not been able to make it clear that intentional fouling and dangerous fouling during games is inappropriate behavior – – something that is ingrained in men’s basketball at multiple levels – – this decision making must be causing mass agita among the league’s movers and shakers.
And one more item today about basketball … The LA Lakers have been sold. Yes, you remember correctly, it was only a year ago that the Buss family sold a majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter for $10B. Well, Walter has now decided to sell that stake to a group led by Bob Iger (former CEO of Disney) and Joshua Kushner (Jared’s brother), and the sale price now values the Lakers at $12.5B. That is a tidy 25% capital gain in just over a year for Mr. Walter.
According to reports, this deal came together over a weekend of negotiation; there was no “auction bidding” to drive up the price. Some folks believe that a Federal investigation into some of Mark Walter’s other financial dealings may have been a motivation for his selling his stake in the Lakers; only time will reveal if those speculations have any basis in reality. And of course, the NBA governors – – not owners, please – – will have to approve the sale.
This purchase by Iger and Kushner might have a small deleterious effect on the NBA expansion franchise expected to be in Las Vegas because Iger and Kushner were reported to be seriously involved in the planning for that team. There are some deep pockets involved in the pursuit of that new franchise and some “blue ribbon” individuals. An heiress to the Walton money is supposedly involved and another group is fronted by Magic Johnson. And there are at least a couple of other potential bidders. About a month ago, I read a report saying that the two new franchises in the NBA would cost $7B to $9B; with the Lakers going for $12.5B, I suspect the expansion cost just went up.
Obviously, I don’t have tens of billions of dollars lying around doing nothing important; but if I did, I am not sure I would be looking to buy into the NBA as opposed to taking a piece of an NFL team or a club in the English Premier League. Having said that, the investment in the Lakers just a year ago turned into a tidy profit for Mark Walter – – so what do I know?
I mentioned Bob Iger as the Disney CEO above; Disney owns ABC and ESPN and ESPN has continued its purge of on-air talent this week. Yesterday, Damien Woody was let go by the network after 15 years there. One report said that Woody’s contract was worth “almost 7 figures” and if that is accurate it seems as if ESPN is trimming pretty close to the bone here. I liked Damien Woody when he appeared on Get Up!; I thought that his comments and contributions were always measured and thoughtful. If this separation had happened a year ago, I would have suggested that Woody could find a home at NFL Network; but today, ESPN owns NFL Network so that seems an unlikely landing spot for Woody. Nonetheless, I hope to see him on the air again somewhere down the road.
Finally, this anecdote from Jim Valvano:
“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust em.“
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………