Geno doesn't see same women's game Candice Wiggins complains about

[baggerbob]

She didn't say that EVERY player harassed her, but said that it was pervasive. If this happened to her she has a right to tell her story, just like any other victim, whether it damages the league or not.

When you go out, and call 98% of the league Gay, you lose all credibility about your statements. That subject didn't even need to be brought up, she could have made her point in other ways.

 

[Jeff H]

UConn currently has 15 former players on active 2016 WNBA rosters - among the most of any program nationally.

Personally I think Geno was sticking up for of his former players and I appreciate that he would do so.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

All Wiggins had to do was give specific examples that illustrated her argument. She didn't, so what she said ends up being nothing more than unsubstantiated opinion.

Is she right or wrong? Until her, or someone else, gives specific examples with names, dates, and places nothing of what she said holds any weight.

 

[UcMiami]

Just odd to see a college coach making such comments about a WNBA matter. Now, if a WNBA coach comes out and comments I am more likely to listen. Can you imagine Coach K discussing NBA matters just because he has a connection to the NBA players through his national team experience and some of the NBA players being former players?

He is also the USA Olympic coach and has spent a lot of time with a lot of WNBA players on and off the court, as well as keeping up with all the players who have moved to the WNBA from UConn.
Wiggins was a role player, she might have been much more than that had she not gotten injured, but her career was as a journeyman role player, for 4 different teams in 8 years. She was a star rookie, but that was one year.

The issue that we deal with in our society is one that is impossible to 'judge' and pretty impossible to codify in law as we have found out - bullying and harassment and 'hostile environment' in the workplace are impossible to define because they hinge on the perception of the 'victim' as much as on the actions or words of others. We can try to define 'reasonable' standards but judges and juries have had issue with those definitions. It really is difficult.

One thing that does stand out to me is that Wiggins is claiming this is a vast conspiracy that is league wide - she played on four teams with four different coaches and management structures and as far as I can tell she felt they were all equally hostile to her. That would be the equivalent of the Miami NFL player having experienced the same bullying on three other NFL teams over the course of eight years, and at that point he would have had a much harder time being believed and his own personality and phobias would have been questioned much more closely.

And while I don't want to suggest she shouldn't have played in the WNBA, if she was having this fabulous time overseas while being properly compensated I am surprised she didn't just take her summers off instead of working for peanuts. She was not a 'star' and her absence would not have created the publicity that DT sitting out a season did.

Because she mixes up her 'personal story' of bullying and harassment by 'the lesbians' with her whining about the state of the WNBA and denigrating the league as a the longest lived and most viable women's profession team sport league it all starts sounding like a whine. And that we have 20 years of the league and no one else has hinted at this vast conspiracy just makes it more difficult to give it much credence. Again with an individual team, maybe, We see it in college situations where coaches get fired, and I suspect some players who have left UConn, could have termed their reason as because their being 'bullied' while the coaches and other players would have said it was because they weren't down with the program and putting in the necessary effort. Again 'perception'.

 

[j66kicker]

Maybe they have the same PR firm

 

[Blue Huskie]

Just odd to see a college coach making such comments about a WNBA matter. Now, if a WNBA coach comes out and comments I am more likely to listen. Can you imagine Coach K discussing NBA matters just because he has a connection to the NBA players through his national team experience and some of the NBA players being former players?

Coach K probably WOULD make a comment if a similiar accusations were made by a former NBA player. However that's not likely to happen. As a men's coach who has many former players in the NBA and coaching USA basketball I would think he too has a lot of dialogue with NBA players. His opinion would be valuable.

 

[CL82]

Because neither he, nor any of his former players are named Candice Wiggins. I don't mind Geno saying that he has not heard of this type of harassment in the past and certainly he is free to speak to what he has heard, or in this case not heard, but to attack Candice Wiggins as he did and to basically call her a liar is where he crossed into an area that he is not qualified to address.

And, yes, I read the article.

Disagree. She condemned an entire industry with women he has coached and knows personally. He called out her BS in a way that only Geno can do.

Far easier to say nothing, but that's not Geno.

 

[mdakota]

Let's not forget... Wiggins also stated that nobody watches the WNBA. Well I watch the WNBA, so that makes me a nobody to Wiggins? She not only tried to throw the WNBA and the players under the bus, she also threw the fans (bunch of nobody's) under the bus... The bus must be as big as her ego.... lol

 

[Plebe]

Let's not forget... Wiggins also stated that nobody watches the WNBA. Well I watch the WNBA, so that makes me a nobody to Wiggins? She not only tried to throw the WNBA and the players under the bus, she also threw the fans (bunch of nobody's) under the bus... The bus must be as big as her ego.... lol

This glib use of absolutes like "it's not watched" is yet another troublesome layer in this multilayer crap cake.

Attendance: This season, for the first time since 2011, the W registered the highest attendance at 1,561,530 and average attendance at 7,655; from last year that is a 4.6% increase. The Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever both lead the league in record-breaking numbers with franchise records for average attendance and single game crowd. ...

Viewership: The season opener between Minnesota and Phoenix, which was broadcasted on the ESPN network, delivered 505,000 viewers make that game the highest-rated, regular season game on that network. Also, the viewership on ESPN and ESPN2 increased 11% from 202,000 views last season to 224,000. Numbers don’t lie​

Apparently, those 1.5 million-plus spectators are all "nobodies" to Wiggins. And the more than half-million TV viewers of one single WNBA game also amount to "nobodies" in Candice's eyes. She complains she was disrespected in the league and says elsewhere that she only stayed as long as she did "for the fans"; but that is disrespect.

 

[j66kicker]

This glib use of absolutes like "it's not watched" is yet another troublesome layer in this multilayer crap cake.

Attendance: This season, for the first time since 2011, the W registered the highest attendance at 1,561,530 and average attendance at 7,655; from last year that is a 4.6% increase. The Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever both lead the league in record-breaking numbers with franchise records for average attendance and single game crowd. ...

Viewership: The season opener between Minnesota and Phoenix, which was broadcasted on the ESPN network, delivered 505,000 viewers make that game the highest-rated, regular season game on that network. Also, the viewership on ESPN and ESPN2 increased 11% from 202,000 views last season to 224,000. Numbers don’t lie​

Apparently, those 1.5 million-plus spectators count are all "nobodies" to Wiggins. She complains she was disrespected in the league; but that is disrespect.

Again, the more than half-million TV viewers of one single WNBA game also amount to "nobodies" in Candice's eyes.

Although Candice put it in rude and unflattering terms, she does have a point about the league not being very popular. Yes, attendance was up 5% 2016 over 2015, but it is still down about 25% from its peak of over 10,000 per game a few years ago. Though they have a minimum-wage type salary cap, still half the teams lose money. The spartan team travel makes it a demotion from the college lifestyle if you're from a big time college program. And the best coaches stay at the NCAA level where they can make a lot more money.

There are probably a lot more constructive ways to address these issues than the approach Candice is taking, but let's not pretend everything is all good. The league has really taken a step backward, and is in trouble if they don't figure out how to get more people to like their game.

 

[Plebe]

Although Candice put it in rude and unflattering terms, she does have a point about the league not being very popular. Yes, attendance was up 5% 2016 over 2015, but it is still down about 25% from its peak of over 10,000 per game a few years ago. Though they have a minimum-wage type salary cap, still half the teams lose money. The spartan team travel makes it a demotion from the college lifestyle if you're from a big time college program. And the best coaches stay at the NCAA level where they can make a lot more money.

There are probably a lot more constructive ways to address these issues than the approach Candice is taking, but let's not pretend everything is all good. The league has really taken a step backward, and is in trouble if they don't figure out how to get more people to like their game.

Popular compared to what? The NBA? Sure. But the WNBA is actually in the ball park of the second tier of indoor professional sports leagues (such as arena football). And even in the men's Euroleague, the average attendance is only marginally higher: List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues - Wikipedia

 

[j66kicker]

Popular compared to what? The NBA? Sure. But the WNBA is actually in the ball park of the second tier of indoor professional sports leagues. And even in the Euroleague, where the owners pony up a lot more money for player salaries and amenities, the average attendance is only marginally higher: List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues - Wikipedia

Well if you're saying attendance and viewership are never going to get to where fans pay the bills, then maybe the answer is get a bunch of rich corporate owners or Magic Johnson types to pay for the league. ??

The League:
Google Chromes
Apple iBallers
Pay Pals
Ellison Oracles
Los Angeles Magic
Air Jordans
Dallas Cubans
Ford Edge
Tesla Chargers
Pratt & Whitney Jets
Microsoft Surface
MGM High Rollers

 

[HopJim]

My point is, Geno has not walked in her shoes. She is the only one that can say what she experienced. Other WNBA players can attest to what they have or have not experienced as a WNBA player, but unless you are a WNBA player I am not sure why you are attempting to offer feedback on what it is like to be a WNBA player.

I don't know if Wiggins was bullied or not, but I am not one to attack a woman when she claims to have been a victim of bullying, just like I wouldn't attack the victim of sexual assault.

I do have a friend who told me that her daughter quit playing basketball because she felt like she was being bullied by teammates who were gay.

Gays are bullied all the time when they are the minority. Is it impossible to imagine that the reverse may be true?

Suspect there are bullies on all teams, from all groups, etc. Wiggins lost me when she generalized-"98%." If there is a problem, comments like this don't help reaching a solution.

 

[JellyBean]

I'm not sure how Geno is qualified to comment on Wiggins' experience in the WNBA.

I think the same qualifications that Wiggins has.