Storyline: Draymond Green told SI that he “learns more from watching the WNBA than from watching the NBA.” If there’s a giant lesson to be taken from Green’s interview it’s this: Everyone wins when men lean in for equality.
Game recognizing game….
Courtesy: DetroitNews.com
This week, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green landed the cover of Sports Illustrated. Journalist Lee Jenkins referred to him as the “unheralded second-round pick to one of the top players in the NBA,” after the Warriors drafted him #35 overall in 2012.
This season Green finished seventh in MVP voting and came second in Defensive Player of the Year voting—for the second year in a row. With a championship under his belt from the 2014-15 season, he has proved himself to be a vital ingredient in Golden State’s team success.
Green talked to Lee Jenkins about many topics, such as his college nickname and sleeping with the television on, but one specific subject made headlines: he says he learns more about basketball from watching the WNBA than from watching the NBA. It is no secret that the sports world is male-dominated.
The female leagues of sports don’t get half the attention they deserve — but Draymond Green might have just changed that. Green told Jenkins: “In the NBA there’s always a guy who is only around because he can jump. He doesn’t have a clue about the fundamentals. I learn more from the WNBA. They know how to dribble, how to pivot, how to use the shot fake.”
That’s a great argument. The game is somewhat slower in the WBA and the attention to detail shows. You can see the sets, rotations, and sense the fundamental acumen. Plus, women can’t dunk, which is a supporting point in itself when it comes to the attention to the fundamentals.
Courtesy: alchetron.com
Green’s comments certainly turned heads. Take for example the response from retired WNBA New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks’ player, Teresa Weatherspoon: “First of all, I’ve always thought he was a smart man. At this point, I think he is a very smart man. If he continues to watch us, as he says, and he speaks very big of us, that’s big for us over here and we truly appreciate it because at the level of basketball he is playing right now, for him to speak highly of us, it has great meaning.”
But praise wasn’t the only response to what Green said. Fans on social media shared their opinions, too. Here are several examples:
@thezionmarley: “That’s why his form looks so stupid.”
@sportsfan741: “That’s why he’s so soft.”
@GonzaloCorral: “No wonder he gets so emotional.”
@fsumollz: it’s “no wonder they lost game 1.”
@Oranges4Sale: “Cavs sweeping warriors now.”
These fans all portray the average sexist, diminishing, and discriminatory comments made online about women in sports that I previously wrote about in TSC and the #MoreThanMean – Women in Sports ‘Face’ Harassment PSA put out by justnotsports.com.
Courtesy: ispot.tv
In a male-dominated world it’s an unspoken requirement for women to have thick skins. That’s why Green’s comments are so important. Although he may not realize it, he’s an advocate of feminism in the sports world.
So, too, is the LeanInTogether Public Service Campaign. The WNBA and NBA have partnered to encourage men to support equality at home and at work. Draymond Green is in every commercial that airs during the playoffs, saying he LEANS IN for his mother.
Green’s words carry weight. And his affirmation goes hand in hand with WNBA publicity, as the WNBA season began on May 14th with a bang. The tip-off of the 2016 WNBA season delivered the best TV audience for a WNBA regular-season since 2001, with an average of 505,000 viewers.
If there’s a giant lesson to be taken from Green’s interview it’s this: Everyone wins when men lean in for equality.
