Debbie Schlussel: When WNBA Players Attack: WNBA'er Article Vs. Me in Arizona Republic

By Debbie Schlussel

The she-males in the WNBA sideshow just can't take it. First, I received a "creative" F-U e-mail from Phoenix Mercury Assistant Head Coach (Lute Olson's Granddaughter) Julie Brase. Now, it is Mercury player Kayte Christensen, who is so bothered by my anti-WNBA column, she's written an anti-Debbie-Schlussel-anti-WNBA column in the Arizona Republic.

But apparently Christensen needs to go back to school to learn how to read. She claims that I take "credit away from a female trying to succeed in a man's world." I do? Where? In my anti-WNBA column, I give credit for Danica Patrick for doing exactly that. How many WNBA players play against men? Well, that may be a trick question, because there actually may be a lot of male WNBA players--based on appearance, anyway. But I refer to real men in my column and point out that the WNBA players do NOT compete against men, but whine for not getting equal pay, respect, attention, ratings, ticket sales, endorsements, yadda, yadda, yadda. If they wanted to succeed "in a man's world," WNBA players would try-out for the NBA and not have their own league.

Christensen also defends her teammate Anna DeForge, who had a lesbian relationship with her coach in exchange for more playing time, as a great role model for America's kids. Sleeping with the boss to get ahead--great role model, Kayte. Puh-leeze.

Christensen is mad that women in sports are judged by looks when men are judged only on performance. That's not really true--a female sports columnist wrote about her lust for LA Dodger Shawn Green's "jewels" in the locker room, and Major League Baseball player Gabe Kapler was regularly praised for his muscular physique, more often than his baseball swing. But even when it is true, get a clue. As I, again, wrote in my column, sports is showbiz. Looks count. In men's sports, men want to be them, and women want to date (euphemism) them. In women's sports, unless you look like Anna Kournikova or Danica Patrick, there won't be that dynamic--unless you count the lesbian audience, and you can't build a sports league on that minute customer base. Sorry, Kayte.

Finally, Christensen claims that David Stern and the NBA are still supporting the WNBA after 8 money-hemorrhaging seasons because they want the league "to succeed in all realms, not just financially." As in any business, there is only one measure of success in sports--the bottom line. If they want to be equal to the men, why do they demand a different yardstick to measure them?

Christensen joins another critic of my WNBA column, my cousin and aspiring teen columnist, Mallory Greitzer, who also critiqued the column in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Mallory's was far better than Kayte's, but Kayte and Mallory, thanks for spelling my name right.

Posted by Debbie on June 22, 2005 09:07 PM to Debbie Schlussel