WNBA’s strength of play, character
One can get lost among the many definitions of strength, especially during a pandemic, but here’s an example guaranteed to educate and inspire: the women of professional basketball.
The WNBA players’ strength is physical, in the form of a tough but fundamentally beautiful style of play, something that only improves as excellent young players enter the league. It is mental, the players’ discipline so comprehensive that there hasn’t been a confirmed positive coronavirus test during the teams’ stay in Bradenton, Fla., since the onset of their “bubble” experience in early July.
More than anything, lately, the most severe challenges have been emotional. As a group, players found it nothing short of appalling that no police officers were charged in the death of Breonna Taylor. They weren’t shocked, or even
surprised, for they are hauntingly familiar with the history of police brutality in this country. But they fight on, incisive in their words and vowing never to retreat, while balancing all that distress against the need to be singleminded on the court.
Now it’s playoff time, with the ConnecticutLas Vegas and SeattleMinnesota semifinal series resuming Sunday, and it’s been quite a show, remarkable when you consider how much star power has gone missing: Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi, whose teams lost in the singleelimination rounds; Brittney Griner, Diamond DeShields and others who opted out of Orlando for personal reasons; and a seasonending injury list including MiramonteOrinda alum Sabrina Ionescu, the sensational rookie out of Oregon, and 2019 MVP Elena Delle Donne. A tremendous duel Thursday — Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas dealing with a dislocated shoulder against Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson, recently voted this year’s MVP — illustrated the league’s depth of talent.
For years, the WNBA has been described as the global leader in athlete activism — men or women, any sport — and the reputation perseveres. Players have written Taylor’s names on the backs of their jerseys all season. As the Seattle and Minnesota players stood together before Thursday’s game, Lynx forward Napheesa Collier read a statement representing the league, calling it “outrageous and offensive” that Taylor’s death has not brought proper justice.
In a media Zoom call this week, Wilson said she “can’t even express it enough, how tough it is, and just how disgusted I am. But this has not stopped the fight. This is making me want to push through even more, because Black women deserve so much better than what is going on right now . ... The system is not written up to work for us; it never was. Now is our time to try to change it.”
In the end, it’s all about strength. “Where I find motivation or courage,” said Indiana Fever forward Natalie Achonwa, “is you look around and some of my friends and some of the players that are in this bubble, they have their kids here, still operate businesses back at home, are still managing households. The women of the WNBA are badass.”
A future home
And so you may wonder: Why isn’t there a WNBA team in the Bay Area, such a perfect setting for the league? In a series of interviews before the pandemic, The Chronicle learned that the Warriors are fully behind the idea, particularly owner Joe Lacob and President Rick Welts, a driving force behind the league’s birth in 1997. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has also supported the idea. Now is not the time for hardline planning, but whether the team plays at Chase Center or a smaller, more intimate arena, count on this happening in the future . ... As detailed so well in Ann Killion’s column, and often lamented here, the college football season is just a shameless, nationwide money grab with no believable attention to health or safety. “I don’t care that Pac12 football players want to play,” wrote retired sportswriter Lowell Cohn on Twitter. “They can pass on the virus in dorms or at parties or in class. It’s not up to them. It’s about everyone. The role of a college is to educate, not to play football — especially now. Poor show, Pac12.” When the games appear on TV, wrote Brady McCollough in the L.A. Times, “It sends a message that times have returned to normal. Fans in Big Ten country are going to gather in groups to watch, let their guards down by putting away their masks, scream and hug in indoor spaces when something good happens, and the virus will receive new life all over the region. All so Ohio State can get its crack at the College Football Playoff.” ... That’s quite a season they’re having at the University of Houston, by the way. The team’s entire September schedule — Washington State, Rice, Memphis, Baylor and North Texas — has been wiped out by postponements or cancellations.
Nothing can be completely normal these days, and that certainly applies to the French Open tennis tournament, opening Sunday in Paris. For the first time, the storied Court Philippe Chatrier will have a retractable roof. Lights have been installed at 12 other courts, allowing for expansive nighttime play, and that will be vital with the sun setting two hours earlier than the tournament’s customary 9:30 p.m. in May. The French Tennis Federation was hoping to allow 20,000 fans (about 50% capacity) onto the grounds each day, but with a recent spike of coronavirus cases in France, it appears the number will be closer to 1,000, with masks mandatory . ... There will be no electronic judging on the clay courts of Roland Garros, a stark contrast to the U.S. Open, where the innovative HawkEye Live left all but the two main two courts (Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong stadiums) without line judges, only a chair umpire. So let’s see: With HawkEye Live in place for Novak Djokovic’s fourthround match on Ashe, his illfated strike merely bounces off the back wall, instead of a lineswoman’s neck. He is not disqualified. He most likely goes on to win the tournament. ... Now the great Rafael Nadal awaits, with his 932 lifetime record at Roland Garros. Nadal and Dominic Thiem — the U.S. Open champ who lost to Nadal in the past two French Open finals — are on course to meet in the semifinals.