This melodrama has dragged on for so long, I’m starting to wonder if the bullying ‘attacks’ are being allowed just to spice up the action and grab attention, you know, the way Pro Hockey was allowed to become decades ago.
Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Women’s Basketball.
It seems ALL Pro Basketball (for men or for women) has become far more physically aggressive than 30 years ago.
It closely resembles a Street Fight in many instances.
Men’s basketball has become much, much less physical over the year. We leave in the age of flopping, where if you get breathed on you collapse in agony. And you have LeBron James, who looks like a Power Forwards, but it the most delicate and wimpy player there is.
Could be WHY they call it "Thug Ball".
You're probably onto something with that analogy. Recall that the "Enforcer Era" of the NHL coincided with the first league expansion, when the NHL went from the original 6 all the way to 12 teams. An argument could be made that there wasn't enough pro hockey talent initially to staff 12 teams. Many players who were not the "full-package" two-way players suddenly found themselves in a league still dominated by the Gordie Howe type players (Goal, Assist & a Fight per night). A Bobby Clarke or a Marcel Dionne needed protection from the classic NHL stud players. Enter the Enforcers.
Face it: The WNBA similarly lacks the depth of talent as the early post-expansion NHL. But they do no lack for large females who can and will bang opposing players. Hence, Caitlin Clark gets knocked on her @ss on a nightly bases. Too much is made, IMO, of Sophie Cunningham defending CC. If she were a real enforcer she would dump one of these goons in a very definitive manner. But she really hasn't done anything but make the occasional situational "basketball play" retaliation and finger-point.