Wiggins Trashes WNBA Culture | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Wiggins Trashes WNBA Culture

I hope she is not going to release a book or autobiography soon ...
 
j66kicker said:
Well if Candice is trolling or hyping to create interest in her book, it looks like it's working on the BY. However, as of last night, the original interviewer - San Diego Union-Tribune - was the only publication I could find carrying the story. This morning there are articles from Deadspin, The Guardian and SFGate, but all they do is quote the Union-Tribune story. ESPNW hasn't touched it so far - either with an article, video rant or even the published tweets down the right side. I wonder if they plan to just ignore it.
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I have a feeling ESPN (probably Voepel) will address Candice's comments, but it will take time because she'll want to do lots of due diligence, look into whether or how Candice's claims can or cannot be substantiated, get quotes from different people who played with Candice, etc. This is not the type of article that gets done in a day or two.
 
Plebe said:
I have a feeling ESPN (probably Voepel) will address Candice's comments, but it will take time because she'll want to do lots of due diligence, look into whether or how Candice's claims can or cannot be substantiated, get quotes from different people who played with Candice, etc. This is not the type of article that gets done in a day or two.
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Monique Currie already did...and Monique took the high road.

Official Blog of Monique Currie :: Perception is Real: Candice Wiggins' Truth

Excerpt from Currie's blog:

I feel awful that Candice had these experiences while playing in the WNBA but I encourage her to not only speak out about the negative aspects of her career but also shed light on how we can prevent this from ever happening again. The WNBA gave you a platform to emerge as an advocate for HIV/AIDS in which you have a very personal connection. The WNBA supported you, worked with you, gave you a voice. Why now? Why bring down the league you say you want to be successful? Why not uplift, advocate, and encourage young women to be themselves as you were during your playing days. Let young girls know that it's ok to be "different", teach them how to overcome, how to survive and to come out on top. Your voice will be much more appreciated and received that way.
 
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CamrnCrz1974 said:
Monique Currie already did...and Monique took the high road.

Official Blog of Monique Currie :: Perception is Real: Candice Wiggins' Truth

Excerpt from Currie's blog:

I feel awful that Candice had these experiences while playing in the WNBA but I encourage her to not only speak out about the negative aspects of her career but also shed light on how we can prevent this from ever happening again. The WNBA gave you a platform to emerge as an advocate for HIV/AIDS in which you have a very personal connection. The WNBA supported you, worked with you, gave you a voice. Why now? Why bring down the league you say you want to be successful? Why not uplift, advocate, and encourage young women to be themselves as you were during your playing days. Let young girls know that it's ok to be "different", teach them how to overcome, how to survive and to come out on top. Your voice will be much more appreciated and received that way.
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Monique's blog post is really outstanding, compassionate and nuanced, and I am thankful for it. But it could emerge quickly because, as a personal blog from an "insider" point of view, it didn't require extensive research and third-party editing. An ESPN article would by necessity be vastly different in character and voice.
 
CTisballers said:
So for 8 years you get bullied and just now speaking up about it. Jealous?? She sounds like the only jealous player because her career didn't go quite as well she as she wanted. And do she think all Volleyball players are straight?? Sad to even come with this true or not. I like Wiggins and loved her game. I'm sure some young girls do too but scare now to even wanna play in the WNBA after reading this article
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My sentiments exactly. Maybe she felt discomfort at times from situations and I was never in her shoes, but there is no doubt some exaggerations here. I dated a lady that played in the WNBA. She is now married with four children. Never have I ever heard her say things like this.

I do feel Wiggins she is throwing some seriously shady accusations at the league and if you're a player in the league, she is jeopardizing your future in a story that most mainstream media will jump on. Had it been a feel good story about her time in the league and her goal to pursue other interests, the distribution of the message would have been far less publicized.

She was a good player, but her time in the WNBA was cut short for a few reasons, most notably was equally talented wing players. Let's not forget her rather large role on the Lynx until the draft of one player - Ms. Maya Moore.

I started disliking Candice Wiggins for one reason and I know the exact moment in time and I can't see past the irony. It was Indianapolis on April 3rd, 2011. Candice's Stanford team had already lost to Texas A&M. I probably wouldn't have noticed her except for how vocal she was being in favor of ND as they were beating UConn. IIRC, she was/is pretty good friends with the very female and heterosexual Skylar Diggins and was rooting for she and the Irish very vociferously that game. That didn't sit well with me.


CW1-2.jpg


I may have been so upset because it was the last time this happened - Maya Moore running off of the floor as a member of the UConn Huskies. Then, Maya was drafted by the Lynx and the rest is history.

MM1.jpg
 
bruinbball said:
I probably wouldn't have noticed her except for how vocal she was being in favor of ND as they were beating UConn. IIRC, she was/is pretty good friends with the very female and heterosexual Skylar Diggins and was rooting for she and the Irish very vociferously that game. That didn't sit well with me.
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You dislike her because she was rooting for her friend?
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet, as far as the "why now" question. If she felt ostracized/targeted during her playing career, speaking out about it publicly could've made it even worse. Doesn't seem that surprising to me that she waited until after her career was over to make these comments.
 
OldAlum said:
The concern about playing "like a woman" bothers me. What does that mean? Is less physical necessarily feminine? While I prefer a less physical game, I don't perceive it as a feminine issue. Otherwise I don't understand what she means. This part of her statements probably bothers me the most
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When I watched Wiggins in college (I did not watch her in the WNBA) I had the thought, as I watched her bring the ball up the court, "here is a girl who enjoys being a girl." Not that the other girls did not like being girls, but no girl flaunted her feminism as much as Wiggins. Her movements with the ball were often an airy hop-skip and dance, which I enjoyed. Now if she did this in the W, I can believe that some, perhaps many, of the all-business-all-the-time pros might resent her style as turning their league into a figure-skating association, and they may, at times, have roughed her up within the rules. I can see Wiggins interpreting their resentment as an attack on her femininity. None of this, however, would be due to Wiggins' homophobia, or the homosexuality of players who may have disliked her. Although, there are no doubt many homosexual in the WNBA, which should not be a problem. Miss Wiggins clearly overstated her case. Probably the most difficult lesson of adulthood is that perception is not truth.
 
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Roger G said:
No one is making the case that their sexual orientation is the only reason for low attendance. But, right or wrong, men's sports are watched by women in part because some of them find the men attractive and fantasize about them. That is often how male athletes have been marketed. Some men are not going to watch women who they cannot see as being interested in someone like them. Once again, right or wrong, that's the way many people are. Which translates into numbers of eyes on the game. Furthermore, about half of America sees homosexuality as distasteful or even wrong. That is a large number of people. Call them what you want, they are really there.
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You just keep speaking the truth, Roger, and one day you will be burnt at the stake.
 
HuskyNan said:
So only homophobes can make stupid statements?

I'm not defending Wiggins's statements - they were stupid and obnoxious - but they don't prove she's a homophobe, especially given her past support of the LGBQ community.
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This reminds me of an oldish youtube video about talking to people about racism. Often, it seems that conversations about a person's statements or actions get derailed by a conversation about the person themselves. That's obviously a waste of time because none of us can peer into Candice's soul and know whether she treats people the same regardless of their sexual orientation. And it's not relevant.

What she said did is what matters here, not how she really feels deep down, and what she did was, as Orangutan put it: invoke "a persistent and harmful stereotype about women's sports generally and the WNBA specifically - the players are lesbians and straight women are unwelcome. In doing so, she made a blatantly false statement, i.e."98 percent"."

What she did was homophobic, I think we can all get why someone might refer to someone who said something homophobic as a homophobe, so let's not derail the "what she did" conversation by making it a "who she is" conversation.
 
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ndmb said:
This reminds me of an oldish youtube video about talking to people about racism. Often, it seems that conversations about a person's statements or actions get derailed by a conversation about the person themselves. That's obviously a waste of time because none of us can peer into Candice's soul and know whether she treats people the same regardless of their sexual orientation. And it's not relevant.

What she said did is what matters here, not how she really feels deep down, and what she did was, as Orangutan put it: invoke "a persistent and harmful stereotype about women's sports generally and the WNBA specifically - the players are lesbians and straight women are unwelcome. In doing so, she made a blatantly false statement, i.e."98 percent"."

What she did was homophobic, I think we can all get why someone might refer to someone who said something homophobic as a homophobe, so let's not derail the "what she did" conversation by making it a "who she is" conversation.
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This is almost exactly what I was going to say on this. Ills like racism and homophobia are not about what people are on the inside, but rather the set of attitudes and ideas that get perpetuated, even if unwittingly by otherwise well-meaning people. I actually made a point to avoid saying things like, "She is a homophobe" or "She is homophobic," but I have no hesitation in saying that her remarks are indeed homophobic (i.e. antigay) in their import and resonance given the fraught cultural history of homophobia surrounding women's sports and sports in general.
 
Orangutan said:
Imani Boyette blog - Imani Boyette | Dear Candice,
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Whoa. Reading Monique Currie's and now Imani's articulate, sensitive replies to Candice is like salve for an old reopened wound:

Candice, I’m disappointed in you. We should be careful of who we allow to share our stories. We must be sure they not only respect the other parties but do their due diligence and only print facts. You stated that, “98% of the women in the league are gay” – that’s not only false but it’s unfair. You retired last year, have you met all 144 of us and been privy to our private lives? In your “research” did you really find only 3 women were straight? Do you know that orientation is not binary? Do you understand what you’ve done? You’ve reinforced unfair stereotypes. A person’s orientation is their choice and their business. Now, because of your article, it is no longer out of bounds to ask WNBA players about their sexuality. Do they ask any male stars in the NBA about their sexuality? Is it even a conversation?​
 
When Wiggins was growing up in San Diego, Robert Brom was the politically active homophobic bishop of San Diego. Pope Francis has appointed the progressive Robert McElroy to succeed him.
Wiggins can get some support among the lower clergy here.
I do not know anything about Wiggins' religion and have avoided bringing politics in this post.
Only facts.
 
j66kicker said:
Well if Candice is trolling or hyping to create interest in her book, it looks like it's working on the BY. However, as of last night, the original interviewer - San Diego Union-Tribune - was the only publication I could find carrying the story. This morning there are articles from Deadspin, The Guardian and SFGate, but all they do is quote the Union-Tribune story. ESPNW hasn't touched it so far - either with an article, video rant or even the published tweets down the right side. I wonder if they plan to just ignore it.
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Well, looks like ESPN was taking its sweet time -



Of course, they just present Wiggins' quotes and mention they got a no comment from the league. So far, the only site that has presented any reactions from other players was Howard Megdal at Vice Sports. I had hoped that ESPN would at least run the statement that Nneka gave Vice:

"Our union is only as strong as our loyalty to and support for one another. What is key to that loyalty and support is our commitment to diversity and inclusion. As a union, we should and we will continue to celebrate the diversity that makes us special and lead by example. We must respect the rights of those we don't agree with when they speak their mind. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the comments made recently by a former player or whether one has seen or experienced anything like what she has described, anything that impacts an inclusive culture should be taken seriously."
 
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An individual relate their experiences and someone call it -Stupid and obnoxious.To me this response was stupid and obnoxious.If someone commented that 98% of people that attend their Church on Sundays are sinners,I wonder how that would be addressed?
 
Roger G said:
It is despicable how many posters accuse Candace of "homophobia." None of you experienced what she experienced. That's more McCarthy like than her throwing out a wrong percentage as if to say "the vast majority," which may or may not be true but is her opinion. I guess she should have said 110% and then all of you would have understood.
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Oh yeah, I have to keep reminding myself of the long history of oppression endured by straight people in this country. Who can forget those witch hunts.
 
Carnac said:
Boneyarders, Please take a moment to read Boyette's response to Wiggins' blog. It's very well written, and touches on several points of interest.
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I read this earlier today. I had attempted to make similar points on this thread over the past few days, but could never have hoped to do so in such a moving and profound manner as Imani Boyette.

I had the good fortune to see Imani play in person against UConn at each of the last two regionals. While I am certain the games did not go the way she would have hoped, Imani earned my respect for her play.

After reading her extraordinary response to Candace Wiggins comments, Imani Boyette has also earned my respect as an intelligent and thoughtful young lady.
 
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