A league of their own - women's professional basketball league

Ebony, Feb, 1997 by Muriel L. Whetstone Sims

Women's professional basketball is on the rebound with the debut of the new American Basketball League (ABL), the fifth attempt in more than a decade to bring women's pro ball to the U.S. The elements for courting success -- talented players, seasoned coaches, enthusiastic fails and generous corporate sponsors -- appear, by all outside measures, to be in place. But only time will tell if women basketball stars can match the appeal of Michael and Shaq in the world of fast breaks, three-pointers and slam dunks.

Gold medal Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Dawn Staley of the Richmond Rage, Teresa Edwards and Carla McGhee of the Atlanta Glory, Nikki McCray of the Columbus Quest and Venus Lacy of the Seattle Reign are among the 80 gifted ABL players leading the charge to make women's basketball everyday entertainment in the U.S. Other players guaranteed to become big box-office attractions include the league's only foreign player, Brazilian Marta deSouza Sobral, also with Richmond, and recent college graduates, Saudia Roundtree on the Atlanta team and Colorado Xplosion team member Charlotte Smith.

One player, Attorney Sonja Henning of the San Jose Lasers, was so excited about the new league that she left her law office for a chance to play. And on the sidelines, the ABL's only Black head coach, Trish Roberts of the Atlanta Glory, is doing her part to chisel in the annals of American pro basketball history a permanent place for women.

"When they announced they were going to form this league, I was skeptical because I've seen leagues come and go," says Roberts, a former player in the 1979 Women's Professional Basketball League. "But the ABL was a year in the making, and they used that whole year preceding the Olympics to prepare, to form their league and to put their policies and goals in place. It's not where it should be, but it's a start, and I think that if it continues to be as successful as it has been, it's going to go in the right direction."

Posing a threat to the ABL's longevity is a sixth league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), which kicks off its inaugural season in June. When asked if they think the two organizations can co-exist, ABL coaches and players answer candidly that American fans may prove unwilling to support two leagues and eventually they may have to merge. But that's O.K. -- as long as women have an opportunity to play in a league of their own.

"I hope the ABL will be a success," says Joyner-Kersee. "Even the new league, I hope they will be a success, too. And if one league is not to survive, hopefully both leagues can consolidate so they can continue to open doors for young girls who dream of playing professional basketball."

A competitive, heads-up player at UCLA, Joyner-Kersee is shooting hoops again after becoming the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in track and field's heptathlon. An individual competitor for more than a decade, Joyner-Kersee says it feels good to be on a team again -- even if her court skills are a little rusty. "I wasn't nervous about coming back, but when I get in the game, I am nervous," she says good-naturedly. "I have to really be patient with myself."

Even if there had been a professional league in place when she graduated in 1985, the 35-year-old says she isn't sure she would have chosen basketball over track. Now, her goal is to do what she can to ensure choices are available for future generations of female ballplayers.

A year after Joyner-Kersee left UCLA, another league star, Teresa Edwards, graduated from the University of Georgia. During the interim, the 32-year-old has assembled an impressive basketball record, which includes the distinction of being the first American basketball player -- male or female -- to compete in four Olympics. One of the ABL's founding players, Edwards is also responsible for the league's theme: "Little girls need big girls to look up to."

Little girls, Edwards explains, can't be like Mike, no matter how hard they try. "As a kid, I loved Dr. J. and then grew to love Michael Jordan," she says. "But I can't perform like them; my body will not allow me to do the things that their bodies will. If there had been a woman in that position, I could have aspired to be like her."

Young girls need women to look up to in this high-performance era of female heroism, and women need -- and want -- a league of their own.