Emily
MikeI’ve always had mixed feelings about this. For a long time, many women’s college basketball teams have used men as “practice players.” The University of Tennessee’s Pat Summitt (the most successful coach ever in college basketball—women or men) is generally considered as the originator, and biggest proponent, of using male practice players. Many other famous women coaches are also big proponents, including Hall of Famers C. Vivian Stringer, Margaret Wade, and Jody Conradt. Stringer went so far as to say that “It’s the male practice players that allow us to get better. … Male practice players are the most important element to the continued growth of women’s basketball players.”
The typical male practice player would be someone who was a good player in high school, but not good enough to play at the college level. Being a practice player would allow them to continue playing at a higher level than pickup and intramural games, and would allow them to contribute to the success of the women’s team. (I remember well a 1999 Sports Illustrated article about male practice players.) The thinking behind using male practice players is that, because the males are typically bigger and stronger, having them practice against the women will make the women more physical and better overall. Former Maryland star, and current WNBA player, Laura Harper said “When you’re going against 6-4, 200-pound guys, you have to be aggressive. It just makes the level of practice higher, more exciting, more physical. When you get in a game, it’s second nature to take the contact. Our guys make us a better team.”
In 2007, the NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics tried to get rid of male practice players. Their reasoning was that using male practice players decreases opportunities for women. The group said that the use of males “violates the spirit of gender equity and Title IX” and “to have talented, capable female student-athletes stand on the sidelines during official practice while the team’s starters practice against ‘more talented men’ is a lost opportunity.” The effort failed and the current NCAA rule is that male practice players must be enrolled full-time in classes and cannot be rewarded in any way for their practice time with the team.
As I said, I have always had mixed feelings about using male practice players. On the one hand, I think that anything that helps the players become better is a good thing and will help lead to more fans of the game. On the other hand, it seems as if it would be a lost opportunity for female players who are not quite good enough to make the team. Basketball is a fun game, even in practice, and the benefits that the male practice players get (having fun, improving their basketball skills, learning new life skills, helping to improve the team) would be lost for the women.
But the following situation is clearer for me. The Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA just announced that it is seeking 15 male players to practice against the team. Apparently, the only compensation will be a new pair of basketball shoes and a ticket to one game. And, also apparently since the announcement is very brief, the players chosen would practice against the team throughout the season. (BTW, the coach is male, but the general manager of the team is Ann Meyers, a Hall of Fame player.) I see no benefit for this at all. The WNBA players are already physical and skilled and, in my opinion, will not improve much, if at all, by practicing against male players. It seems more like a publicity stunt that will fail because all it really does is take the focus away from where it should be—the skills and competitiveness of the players–and, instead, implies that the women’s skills are not good enough.
The skills of the WNBA players are plenty good. In fact, many people like the women’s game better because it is closer to the real skills of basketball rather than the emphasis on dunking in men’s college and professional games. And, so, I hope the officials of the Phoenix Mercury change their minds.
Filed under: Sports Tagged: | Male Practice Players, Phoenix Mercury, WNBA
[...] Using Male Practice Players for Women’s Basketball Teams «The typical male practice player would be someone who was a good player in high school, but not good enough to play at the college level. Being a practice player would allow them to continue playing at a higher level than pickup and intramural games, and would allow them to contribute to the success of the women’s… [...]
Denial… This article is riddled with blissfully ignorant rhetoric. And I’m not using the term “ignorant” loosely. Male practice players don’t take opportunities from female players because they aren’t apart of the team. They don’t give male practice players scholarships. The male practice players don’t compete during the games or in scrimmages against other women’s college basketball teams. So that point is moot at best. As far as the notion that male practice players won’t make WNBA players better; how utterly ridiculous can you get?! Men are faster, quicker and stronger than women no matter what level of basketball it is. Ask the WNBA players… Then you took it even a step further. You said that many people like women’s basketball more because it is closer to the “real skill” of basketball than the running, jumping and dunking in men’s basketball?!!! What did you read a “Jimmy the Greek” pamphlet? He used to spew that same type of nonsense about “white” players vs. “black” players in order to satisfy his superiority complex. You are using it as a coping mechanism for your inferiority complex. “Mike”, you are deeply in denial. Shame on you.
As far as I can tell, I didn’t give any opinion on whether it is good or bad for women’s college teams to use male practice players. All I said was I had mixed feelings about it. The only opinion I gave was about the WNBA using male practice players.
I don’t know about Jimmy the Greek, but did you hear what John Wooden’s grandson had to say when he was at the UConn record-tying game? He said his grandfather had said late in his life that the best basketball was played at the college level “and it wasn’t by the men.”
That’s called political correctness… Geno Auriemma… you know the Uconn basketball coach… yeah, he wants to be and NBA coach one day. He doesn’t want to coach professional women, his ultimate goal is to coach professional men. This was the driving force behind his rant. He feels inferior to the Coach K’s, Boeheims and Bob Knights of the world. He sought to create controversy in order to bring attention to HIS accomplishments as a basketball coach. Not on behalf of the young ladies that he coaches… True story.