Sports commentator Clay Travis proposed a basketball game between the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and the state champion boys high school basketball team. (Travis did not specify a state or team.)
Travis wants to pay $1 million. If Vegas wins, the Aces will get Travis’ money. If the boys win, they will be paid by the Aces. (Would this be considered loose change?) Travis predicted the boys would win by over 30 points.
Travis said the game will draw more attention and generate more revenue than any previous WNBA game.
Travis is 100% correct. If this game was on pay-per-view, it would have a high buy-in rate.
But you can’t play in Las Vegas. There is nothing to gain.
If the Aces win, they’ll beat the high school kids. If we lose, women’s basketball will be ruined. (Not really. But that’s the narrative.)
Travis’ control is fantastic. This isn’t a knock. If we want equality in women’s sports, we can’t shy away from them.
Who wins? Boys will probably do it. They may be frightened by the situation. This is the best choice for women.
But if it’s a champion from a state that loves basketball, and a team from a higher level with some major college recruits, the boys will win easily. Their athleticism, muscle and speed will prevail.
I saw the 1976 Class AAA state championship Fifth Avenue team, which included future Pitt star Sam Clancy and a small group of Division I recruits. They will be 30 points ahead of any U.S. women’s Olympic team.
There is precedent for this, albeit in a different sport: In 2017, the under-15 men’s soccer team from Dallas beat the U.S. women’s national team 5-2.
There was a time when the idea of a game like this would have been fun.
But now, that’s no fun. It will be a deadly serious proving ground for what has been widely labeled sexism and misogyny. God forbid one of the boys commits a serious foul.
Of course, women’s basketball’s reputation will be at risk.
But that didn’t stop then-29-year-old women’s tennis icon Billie Jean King from taking on 55-year-old Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome in 1973. Bobby Riggs). Riggs, a former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, defeated women’s No. 1 Margaret Court earlier that year.
The hype for King-Riggs is huge. Thirty thousand people showed up at the Astrodome. Ninety million people watched on television.
Kim won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. How much damage would it do to women’s tennis if she lost?
It’s hard to say. But the event and the build-up to it were very interesting.
Kim took the risk, even though she was essentially forced to take the risk because of Court’s failure. But no one ever doubted King’s courage.
The WNBA won’t take any chances.
But the WNBA should be hoping for greater visibility. Its average live attendance is about the same as the American Hockey League. The WNBA has major cities, big arenas and national television. AHL No.
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You can demand equality. You can also declare it.
But you can’t force people to watch something they’re not interested in.
Tennis legend John McEnroe has been punished for saying women’s tennis superstar Serena Williams will be rated an “N0”. 700 inches on the men’s track.
Everyone peed their pants. Williams plays the victim. McEnroe took a step back.
This controversy should be settled by Williams (say, the 100th ranked men’s player).
But announcing is much easier.
The day will come when the NBA and NHL will mix. Not in my lifetime. But it will happen. Equality will be enforced. There are two women on the court/rink at all times. Hockey will be non-contact.
Now laugh about it, of course. But the NFL is ultimately going to be flag football.