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Top WNBA star being paid by her Russian team to sit out the WNBA season

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tim.mbp

Member
They have to or the best players would not play in the WNBA

But why does the Russian team give a fuck about the WNBA? Surely they could have put it in her contract that she could only play for them. I would think if you are are paying someone $1.5 million you would want the best possible return on your investment.
 

Casimir

Unconfirmed Member
But why does the Russian team give a fuck about the WNBA? Surely they could have put it in her contract that she could only play for them. I would think if you are are paying someone $1.5 million you would want the best possible return on your investment.

Playing in both leagues mean she has less time to recuperate and more potential to get injured. This way she has three months more to recuperate.
 
But why does the Russian team give a fuck about the WNBA? Surely they could have put it in her contract that she could only play for them. I would think if you are are paying someone $1.5 million you would want the best possible return on your investment.

Because they don't want her to get hurt playing for another team. They basically are putting that in her contract, but it's costing them an extra $105,000 or whatever they are paying her.
 

Fugu

Member
You could look at China, which probably funds women's sports as much or even more than men's sports, since they have a higher potential to get Olympic medals against underfunded women's programs in other countries. The women still put in worse times than their male compatriots for runs/swims, they lift at lower weights in the weightlifting competitions. They also have a larger pool of girls to select from due to the gender ratio in the country, especially the rural areas where many athletes come from.
Why would a gender ratio favoring males give them a larger pool to select from? I'm also curious as to if there are actually any statistics on the way that funding is appropriated for athletics in China; I'll admit that I didn't try very hard but I didn't find any. But in any case, funding is certainly not the only issue facing women in sport, especially in a country where foot-binding wasn't especially uncommon 100 years ago.

Having said that, I could see the hypothetical sex gap in something like swimming being quite large as the physical component (versus the mental component) is quite large so being male confers a more considerable advantage.

The genetic freak argument only comes in to play when you're separating the absolute cream of the crop from the other highly skilled professionals. And seriously, do you think there are plenty of Brittany Griner and Serena Williams just wasting away out there? The gap between women and men in physical sports is far far beyond the gap between say Michael Phelps (a physical freak whose entire body is designed for swimming) and the person who finishes 8th in the 100m butterfly. Your chess analogy is correct when it comes to purely mental exercises (aka Judit Polgar and her sister being trained from Day One to be chess experts) but has very little relevance to the topic at large.
Professional athletes already are the cream of the crop. Hell, the people in the minor leagues are the cream of the crop. The people in the women's leagues are the cream of a much smaller and significantly marginalized crop.

The chess analogy was meant to demonstrate that institutions can affect sports. Chess is purely mental, but nearly all sports have at least some mental component and as the mental component becomes a more significant factor, females should in turn become more prominent in the top levels of the sport. But they don't; women are under-represented in all sports, even the purely mental ones.

As an aside, if you happen to feel that chess isn’t a sport, please don't focus on that part of my post.

You literally just asked him to prove that men are naturally better equipped to hit higher physical talents. This is a known aspect about human biology. This is analogous to demanding for evidence of evolution while blatantly ignoring the well documented evidence since the beginning of modern human biology.
I asked him to prove that the gap in gender that exists in sports today is representative of the effect of sexual dimorphism would have on sports if society weren't oriented around professional male sports.

This is a very different question than the one your limited reading comprehension produced.
 

numble

Member
But why does the Russian team give a fuck about the WNBA? Surely they could have put it in her contract that she could only play for them. I would think if you are are paying someone $1.5 million you would want the best possible return on your investment.
Because they would need to pay more, potentially more than the WNBA salary itself, since the player loses ehatever limited exposure and sponsorship activities are in the US. Also, many teams probably don't object to a player keeping in competitive and physical shape during the offseason by playing 32 games in the WNBA.
 

numble

Member
Why would a gender ratio favoring males give them a larger pool to select from? I'm also curious as to if there are actually any statistics on the way that funding is appropriated for athletics in China; I'll admit that I didn't try very hard but I didn't find any. But in any case, funding is certainly not the only issue facing women in sport, especially in a country where foot-binding wasn't especially uncommon 100 years ago.

Having said that, I could see the hypothetical sex gap in something like swimming being quite large as the physical component (versus the mental component) is quite large so being male confers a more considerable advantage.

You're right about the gender ratio.

You should try harder to find the statistics on funding if you want to argue that funding is a reason behind the lack of success of women. I don't think foot-binding is relevant to a state-run sports system that values gold medals equally regardless of gender.

We are talking about sports, which are a physical activity, not mental activities like chess.
 

iamblades

Member
This fucking thread.



He doesn't have to. Biology did millennia ago.

^^

It's like people think testosterone is not a thing or something.

World class female athletes consistently perform on the level of high school JV men, pretty much no matter the sport, and the gap has been pretty consistent over time, regardless of how much emphasis and support has been put into female sports. Including the eastern bloc countries roiding up all of their female athletes during the 70s and 80s, and they still never came close to the men in any sport.

Men have significant physical advantages over women in basically every area of athleticism because of the effects of sex hormones, not because of anything society has caused.
 
Professional athletes already are the cream of the crop. Hell, the people in the minor leagues are the cream of the crop. The people in the women's leagues are the cream of a much smaller and significantly marginalized crop.

The chess analogy was meant to demonstrate that institutions can affect sports. Chess is purely mental, but nearly all sports have at least some mental component and as the mental component becomes a more significant factor, females should in turn become more prominent in the top levels of the sport. But they don't; women are under-represented in all sports, even the purely mental ones.

As an aside, if you happen to feel that chess isn’t a sport, please don't focus on that part of my post.

Your arguments have been
1) Lack of funding
2) Less pressurized environment
3) Less representation from the truly freakish due to society not pushing those female individuals into sports.

All 3 of these have been easily countered, 1 and 2 by the aforementioned Chinese efforts to claim olympic medals, and 3 is done away with by watching literally any male professional league for more than 5 minutes. The best soccer player in the world had to have medical treatment to avoid being essentially a dwarf, Steve Nash won 2 MVP's despite looking like a gas station attendant.
 

Siegcram

Member
Okay, prove it.
Unless you're legally blind I shouldn't have to, but sure:

Women have inherently more body fat than men, due to their respective estrogen levels, which also results in less attainable muscle mass. This results in more flexible joints which would make a thread about how men gymnasts are discriminated against equally stupid.

The increased testosterone levels of men enable them to build, sustain and use their muscles more effectively than women, as well as the increased amount of type 2 muscles that favor speed and strength, basic athletic attributes.

Testosterone affects the stamina as well, in that it leads to increased levels of red blood-cells, you know the guys that absorb oxygen.

And before you ask for a source, I'm doing this all by memory, of knowledge I thought was basic.

EDIT: Of course the guy already peaced out.
 

Two Words

Member
Fugu is a lost cause. As far as he/she is concerned, women could be dunking on 7 footers like Blake Griffin if they were simply encouraged to do so equally as much. This person lives in a fantasy world where men and women are identical forms of the human body. We might as well say men could birth kids too if the modern patriarchal system didn't discourage it so much.
 

kingkitty

Member
Really

What a disgusting thing to say

Are you honestly implying that woman are so shit at everything that is not cooking and child rearing that they could never ever compete on the same level with men?

I am 100% anti feminism and all that stuff but saying that woman are inherently weaker than men just because they are woman is very small minded

every sentence here is gold

but i absolutely agree, we need to blast open these glass ceilings. we need to integrate the NBA. Although I think we should first concentrate on sports with more physical violence like the NFL. Time to show these men how sacking a quarterback is done.
 

breakfuss

Member
I'm glad I got through to you.

That's it for me, enjoy your insular circlejerk.

lol oh don't run now. You launched your silly polemic and people graciously responded. Anyone suggesting gender integration would be plausible simply doesn't understand basketball ...or basic biology. Choose!
 

markot

Banned
Your arguments have been
1) Lack of funding
2) Less pressurized environment
3) Less representation from the truly freakish due to society not pushing those female individuals into sports.

All 3 of these have been easily countered, 1 and 2 by the aforementioned Chinese efforts to claim olympic medals, and 3 is done away with by watching literally any male professional league for more than 5 minutes. The best soccer player in the world had to have medical treatment to avoid being essentially a dwarf, Steve Nash won 2 MVP's despite looking like a gas station attendant.
wat
 

someday

Banned
I can't blame Taurasi for this at all. These women end up playing basketball year round for a pittance compared to the guys. I think it sucks that they can be so talented but unappreciated. They worked just as hard as the guys did growing up but their sport generates eye rolls from the general public. Pretty shitty.

I used to go to Seattle Storm games a lot, just to support the team and the league but I finally stopped when I realized I just hate basketball. They're one of the few teams that have a decent level of support within the community.
 

Bold One

Member
Fugu is a lost cause. As far as he/she is concerned, women could be dunking on 7 footers like Blake Griffin if they were simply encouraged to do so equally as much. This person lives in a fantasy world where men and women are identical forms of the human body. We might as well say men could birth kids too if the modern patriarchal system didn't discourage it so much.

I for one believe I would make a fantastic mother
 

linsivvi

Member
Really

What a disgusting thing to say

Are you honestly implying that woman are so shit at everything that is not cooking and child rearing that they could never ever compete on the same level with men?

I am 100% anti feminism and all that stuff but saying that woman are inherently weaker than men just because they are woman is very small minded

This is not about being a doctor or leader or CEO. This is about playing sports.

Go read a high school biology book or something. It will open your mind.
 

Mesoian

Member
The WNBA's reigning DPOY is a 6-6, 200lb center.

Who would still get completely shut down by the vast majority of NBA players.

Really

What a disgusting thing to say

Are you honestly implying that woman are so shit at everything that is not cooking and child rearing that they could never ever compete on the same level with men?

I am 100% anti feminism and all that stuff but saying that woman are inherently weaker than men just because they are woman is very small minded

...wut?
 

sgjackson

Member
If I had to guess a sport where a woman is going to be competitive with men in the next decade or two, I'd say golf. The top of the women's LPGA tour in driving distance is around 270, which slides into the very low end of the men's scale. If a woman had elite accuracy and short game (which I assume are more attributable to technique and psychology than raw athleticism) to match that drive distance they could compete on the PGA tour.

I'm also likely missing some other factor that's prevented this from happening and I'd love for a hardcore golf fan to say exactly why.
 

masud

Banned
Man I hope the wnba sticks around long enough for my daughter to dominate it. I've got a little hoop hanging in her crib, she's gonna be a beast.
 
Jesus Christ this thread is a train wreck. Basic biology is a thing, and there are some sports you simply cannot integrate.

Male/Female professional heavyweight boxing wouldn't just be "unfair" if you did, I'm pretty sure it would qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.
 
Is women's basketball popular in Russia? I've known that WNBA stars go overseas to play and supposedly make good money but I've never understood how or why. What is different in the Russian league that allows them to pay these players more money than the WNBA.
 
He can believe women have similar physical properties but lack mental prowess, you know, cause theyre women, and they are driven by emotion. They cant run the 100m as fast as a man because they cant focus like men.

But nobody is saying that, the mayor difference is a physical one. The guys from the NBA all really tall except for exceptions like Iverson or JJ Barea (which are still fairly tall), they are more muscular and have a longer reach. As it's stand is fairly unfair,and an integration would cause some problems.

1-either some people are going to complain about the new sport made women look bad in comparison by highlighting the physical differences


2-some would complain because they feel the woman players needed the men to carry the team for them.

other option would be to have only men of similar build of the fellow women (similar weight and height) but that too will carry some controversy.

1-some will say makes some male athletes overqualified, which will hurt the sport.

2-others will say this makes the women look bad because they are not competing against the best athletes the male gender can offer.

This isn't a case like when black people weren't allowed to play in the NBA, because they well always capable of playing as good as their white counter parts as they were biologically the same.

It just wouldn't work in my person opinion.
 
Serena Williams I believe has been quoted as saying she would not be able to beat any top 100 mens tennis player.

Take a look at Tennis, which has Williams sisters. They're beasts on the court, but theirr fastest serve wouldn't even quality in top50 (heck, maybe even top100) if the list wouldn't be separated into genders.

Serena herself has recognized she couldn't handle any top ranked men, ("Talking about playing against Andy Murray, she said "That would be fun. I doubt I’d win a point, but that would be fun.” and "Maybe I can get a game. I’m not sure, but I think I can get a game.”) but I don't know if she's said how low she would have to drop. I do know 'experts' have come out saying (multiple times) that she would have to drop into the 300-400's to consistently beat men.

It's not about a lack of skill, it's about a lack of physicality inherently missing from the vast majority of women.
 

SamVimes

Member
Why can't people just accept that at least physically men and women are good at different things?
Girls can't compete at traditional sports but show me a man that can do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYPcdj_wn4&feature=youtu.be

If you really want to find a problem in sports gender relations it should be that competitions in which women have the advantage aren't nearly as popular but even then you could make the argument that there are a lot of other reasons beyond sexism.
 

Dali

Member
Why can't people just accept that at least physically men and women are good at different things?
Girls can't compete at traditional sports but show me a man that can do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYPcdj_wn4&feature=youtu.be

If you really want to find a problem in sports gender relations it should be that competitions in which women have the advantage aren't nearly as popular but even then you could make the argument that there are a lot of other reasons beyond sexism.
Women's gymnastics is waaaaaay more popular than men's gymnastics. What are other sports where women have the advantage?
 

numble

Member
Women's gymnastics is waaaaaay more popular than men's gymnastics. What are other sports where women have the advantage?
I don't think they have an advantage because they are scored on different criteria. I don't think a top woman gymnast would do that well in the traditional male gymnastic events, which focus more on strength.
 

Dali

Member
I don't think they have an advantage because they are scored on different criteria. I don't think a top woman gymnast would do that well in the traditional male gymnastic events, which focus more on strength.
Yeah many of the events are completely different so in that respect you're right, but I was mainly refuting the idea that sports in which women are "better" aren't popular which using the poster's own example of gymnastics isn't true. I just went with the assumption the poster meant if men had to compete in women's gymnastics they'd kill us... Which I'm not even sure that's true. A 15 year old boy that's had puberty stunted from training since he was 4 would probably perform in the women events just as well.
 

SamVimes

Member
Women's gymnastics is waaaaaay more popular than men's gymnastics. What are other sports where women have the advantage?
Honestly? I don't know. I assume men have the advantage in the overwhelming majority but there is probably some other stuff.
I don't think they have an advantage because they are scored on different criteria. I don't think a top woman gymnast would do that well in the traditional male gymnastic events, which focus more on strength.

She wouldn't. Like a man wouldn't do well in the traditional female gymnastic events.

Yeah many of the events are completely different so in that respect you're right, but I was mainly refuting the idea that sports in which women are "better" aren't popular which using the poster's own example of gymnastics isn't true.
What? Gymnastics, female or male, isn't popular at all compared to any major sport, which was my point.
 

Cipherr

Member
Reality.

A high ranking boys High School team would beat the WNBA champions by 20+ points.

The WNBA exists as corporate welfare. The thing should be dead and buried by now.

I like that they tried though. It was pretty cool when they launched it. It has never gained steam though, and these salary issues are embarrassing.
 

markot

Banned
Its funny, why in mammals are males generally bigger and stronger. Yet in most other areas of life they are smaller and weaker?
 

Dali

Member
Honestly? I don't know. I assume men have the advantage in the overwhelming majority but there is probably some other stuff.


She wouldn't. Like a man wouldn't do well in the traditional female gymnastic events.

What? Gymnastics, female or male, isn't popular at all compared to any major sport, which was my point.
Umm ok. You can add that caveat now but in comparison to men's gymnastics and in the context of the Olympics it's very popular. People can name the names of female gymnasts. Not so much with the dudes.
 

markot

Banned
Umm ok. You can add that caveat now but in comparison to men's gymnastics and in the context of the Olympics it's very popular. People can name the names of female gymnasts. Not so much with the dudes.
Hmm... But why are they watching it...
 
Really

What a disgusting thing to say

Are you honestly implying that woman are so shit at everything that is not cooking and child rearing that they could never ever compete on the same level with men?

I am 100% anti feminism and all that stuff but saying that woman are inherently weaker than men just because they are woman is very small minded

The Olympics don't separate the sports by sexes because of gender norms. Men are on average stronger and faster and taller than women. In a sport that emphasizes height, speed, and quickness, those differences are exacerbated. The best WNBA center couldn't play in the NBA because she's too short to guard NBA centers and too slow to guard NBA guards. A player like Taurasi has been playing all her life, and she'd barely get a shot off in today's league.
 

DiscoJer

Member
The pro/minor leagues don't exist in a vacuum. Even if we pretend for a minute that the notion of a female professional athlete doesn't rub a significant percentage of the population the wrong way (which subsequently drastically reduces the population of female athletes, pro or not), it is impossible to ignore that the institutions involved in professional athleticism are not at all inclusive. For unequivocal statements to be made about the potential gap between males and females to be made, there would have to be no huge funding/prominence difference and no society with a laser focus on males.

But what about the two most macho sports? Auto racing and competition shooting. Yet in both of those, women can (and do) compete with men.

In both those sports, physicality isn't nearly as important as skill, reflexes, and coordination, not muscles.
 

Kinyou

Member
Really

What a disgusting thing to say

Are you honestly implying that woman are so shit at everything that is not cooking and child rearing that they could never ever compete on the same level with men?

I am 100% anti feminism and all that stuff but saying that woman are inherently weaker than men just because they are woman is very small minded

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