Written by Clara Mokri, Yale University
Storyline: One way to speed up the women’s game–and make it more attractive to sports fans–is to lower the rims in college and pro play.
I distinctly remember my 5th birthday. I had a few friends over to my aunt’s house and we played games in her backyard. There was a “Little Tykes” basketball hoop sitting in the driveway, and it was the first thing I saw when we stepped outside.
There were maybe five or six kids at my birthday, Most of the girls were crafting elaborate chalk-drawn landscapes and playing hopscotch. My best friends at the time were two boys, Ari and David, and they were the only kids who would accept me for being a tomboy. We were all about the same height and the dunk contests that day were pretty even.
At 5 years old, windmill and 180-degree dunks were completely euphoric (although I was probably barely getting my feet off the ground, I felt like I was flying). That day, I innocently vowed to myself that I would fly through the air playing Division 1 college basketball. Between the ages of 6 and 11 I played in a co-ed parks and recreation league. I was one of the best players in the league and I made the all-star team each year.
In elementary school and middle school playing basketball with the boys presented no limitations—our skill levels were more or less the same. As we grew older, though, boys began to hit puberty and things started to change. Although my friendship with Ari and David remained close, our height difference grew farther and farther apart. Suddenly, they towered over me and, with that, their basketball game took on a new dimension. They started to dunk, just like we did that day–years before–on the kiddie rim at my birthday party.
When we got to high school, I was 5’4,” but they were each 5’11.” By the time we were getting recruited to play for college, I was 5’6”; Ari was 6’3”, and David was almost 6’5”. Gone were the days when we were able to compete equally against together. Their ability to play above the rim put them miles ahead of me … and it put me at an underwhelming disadvantage.
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In 2012, Geno Auriemma–one of the most successful coaches in college basketball today (6-time Naismith Coach of the Year)–proposed a controversial change to the rules of women’s basketball. He proposed that women’s basketball rims should be lower than men’s. His rationale is that men are inherently taller than women and, therefore, stand closer to the rim. He argued that the women’s game would be more exciting if women’s hoops were lowered by the average height difference between men and women, which is 7 inches.
People opposed to Auriemma’s proposal claim that lowering rims diminishes equality in the sport. Miriam Krule, an assistant editor for Slate Magazine, argues that “making women’s basketball all about a lower net would make all-women’s pick-up games almost nonexistent (too difficult to find a court with a women’s height hoop), and create a greater divide in co-ed pick-up games, making the sport inaccessible in a way that would discourage girls from playing in the first place.” For women who play basketball for fun, Krule continues, a lower rim wouldn’t have a positive effect on their game: recreational basketball is already fun the way it is. On the other hand, a lower rim would prevent women from playing with men (thus segregating them), making for an inconvenient adjustment.
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Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, a sports analyst for ESPN and former Stanford women’s basketball player, prefers an approach that would optimize what women can do on the court. That’s more important, she believes, than making the women’s game more like the men’s game.
Adjusting the height of basketball hoops would be time-consuming. For one thing, it would require cities to change the hoops at parks, gyms, schools and playgrounds. It would be expensive, too. According to Sean Gregory, a senior writer at TIME Magazine: “Very few municipalities have the money or the motivation to install separate girls’ courts with 9’3” baskets.”
But let’s make one point clear: Auriemma isn’t targeting women who want to play for fun. His proposal is geared towards women at the collegiate and professional levels. He thinks lower rims will enhance fan interest in the games. Currently, only 2.2% of air time on SportsCenter is dedicated to women’s sports–and even less time is spent on women’s basketball (Messner). Very few women make it into ESPN’s, “Top 10 Plays of the Day,” and, when they do, its typically because of a game-winning, half-court buzzer beater, that is, a lucky shot rather than a strategic play or an expression of dominant athleticism.
Auriemma believes that women’s basketball doesn’t attract the same fandom and fanaticism as the men’s game because women’s teams do not score as easily and as frequently. That’s due, in part, to the inalterable height discrepancy–the basket is further out of range for women. With more misses the game moves at a slower pace. Auriemma argues that with a lower rim “there would be fewer missed layups because the players are actually at the rim. Shooting percentages go up. There would be more tip-ins” (Schonbrun).
The game would speed up, too. Women would be able to dunk. And more spectators-it’s speculated–would be drawn to a more aerodynamic game. To support his argument, Auriemma points to women’s volleyball, where nets are set about 7″shorter than men’s nets. Most fans and general spectators don’t even know or notice thet difference. But because women are able to elevate, just like the men, it makes women’s volleyball exciting.
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Arguments have been made that the current height of the rims is affecting men’s basketball, too. Ten-feet rims make dunking almost too accessible for men. As a result, strategy and teamwork is not as important; and less skill is required to throw down powerful, monstrous dunks. There were complaints about that way back in 1957: “A basket has become so cheap nowadays that the fans have nothing left to cheer about.” (Heisel)
Even earlier–around the time that basketball first became popular in America (in the late 1930s)–discussions were held to raise men’s baskets by 2-to-4 inches. The main argument, as explained by Andrew Heisel, was that “the inventor of basketball never intended for the rim to be set at 10 feet. It just so happened that the running track above the floor where James Naismith hung his peach baskets in 1891 was 10 feet tall. Naismith’s point was completely arbitrary.” (Heisel)
However, if we fast-forward almost a century, “the dunking culture” is what keeps fans coming back for more. There’s excitement about a game played above the rim.
I think most people will support the idea that the rims should be lowered in women’s basketball. The challenge to change is practical: the transition needed to lowering the rims. But whenever I played co-ed basketball, I’d have to adjust to a men’s-sized ball, and the change didn’t take long. Women are good enough basketball players at the collegiate level to transition to different-sized hoops from high school to college. And, because every player would make the transition at the same time, nobody would have an advantage over the other.
If the solution to bringing more fans is speeding up the game and playing above the rim, colleges and professional leagues are the only ones that would need to make the transition. With the amount of hours they spend in the gym women with that level of athleticism, high-caliber knowledge of the game, maturity, and dedication will be able to adjust to the transition in fair time.
Works Cited
Abbott, Senda Berenson, ed. Spalding’s Official Basketball Guide for Women. 7th ed. New York: American Sports Publishing Company, 1915. Print.
Spalding’s Athletic Library 7a. “Geno Auriemma.” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Gregory, Sean. “Should Women Basketball Players Shoot On Lower Rims?” Keeping Score. TIME Magazine, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
Heisel, Andrew. “The Plot to Kill the Slam Dunk.” Vice Sports. Vice, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015..
Krule, Miriam. “Lowering the Hoop for Women’s Basketball Is a Terrible Idea.” XX Factor. Slate Magazine, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
Messner, Michael. “Chapter 4: Center of Attention- The Gender of Sports Media.” Taking the Field: Women, Men, and Sports. St. Paul: University of Minnesota Press, 2002. 91-134. Print.
Schonbrun, Zach. “Idea to Lower Rim for Women’s Basketball Stirs Talk.” The New York Times. N.p., 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
