If they, the NBA/WNBA, truly wanted equality, they would have women playing alongside the men.............
“...they would have women playing alongside the men...”
It’s just the science and many people don’t understand the differences. That experiment has failed many times. The sport is a full body sport that nowadays requires body parts that differ greatly especially at the NBA level. You start off with the obvious:
Women’s and men’s bodies differ physically in composition, skeletal structure, and physiology, driven by hormonal and genetic factors. Men generally have higher muscle mass, greater bone density, and higher metabolic rates, while women typically have a higher body fat percentage, wider hips, and specialized reproductive anatomy. With today’s game, women players would be knocked in the third row every time they enter the game. They aren’t big or strong enough to play with the men. And the separation of being able to combine in most cases happens starting in high school.
Key figures regarding women and NBA tryouts/drafts:
Ann Meyers (1979): Signed a $50,000 no-cut contract with the Indiana Pacers and participated in their rookie camp. She lasted a week before she was cut.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xauxe9
Lusia Harris (1977): Selected 137th overall by the New Orleans Jazz, making her the first and only woman officially drafted by an NBA team. She did not try out because she was pregnant.
Denise Long (1969): Selected by the San Francisco Warriors in the 13th round, but the pick was voided by NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy because it came out it was a publicity stunt and the league didn’t want to be ridiculed.
To my knowledge, no other woman has physically tried out for an NBA team. And many times the men are not big enough to compete. I supervised a troop in the air force that was 6’8” but officially 6’7” for enlistment purposes. He had played for the rainbows in Hawaii. Our boss ask him why he didn’t go pro right after he got back from all services competition and I told her he wasn’t big enough. She was under the assumption because he was tall he was competitive. He immediately agreed with me that he needed possible 30 more pounds of muscle bulk to start. And he obviously could play as he was guarding many talented troops during the all service as one was a guy from the Navy team named David Robinson.
wy69