Women Earned This League Of Their Own

They aren’t asking for a new facility. They don’t need you to buy a PSL, a PEP, an RCA or a McDLT. So far as they are aware, none of their players or coaches have recently A) been arrested while consorting with exotic dancers, B) cursed a ticket-buying, autograph-seeking fan, or C) turned up their noses at millions of dollars as if it were four pounds of spoiled liver.

All they want from you? A chance. Just a chance.

“There have been a lot of crazy things going on in pro sports,” said Jennifer Azzi, a firstyear player on the first-year San Jose Lasers, which is a member of the first-year American Basketball League. “Just the salary disputes, crazy stuff like that. Our game isn’t there yet.”

Said Lasers coach Jan Lowery: “We get people who call us and say, ‘We’re tired of paying these (high) prices for pro sports. We’re going to give you a chance.’ “

This isn’t the first shot for women’s professional basketball in this country. But it’s the best shot. Eight teams (in two conferences) will play 40 games each from mid-October to early March. There is a national television contract (with SportsChannel). There will be an all-star game and playoffs.

The Lasers, featuring four former Stanford players and one former California Bear, will play at the Event Center on the San Jose State campus. Ticket prices average $10.

The concept is sound. The question, as ever, is this - can women’s basketball get off the ground in this country?

Azzi is one of a number of players gambling real money that it can.

“I think every player has passed up something else to be here,” she said. “Sonja (Henning, a Stanford alumnus) is postponing law school. Val (Whiting, a Stanford alumnus) and Trisha (Stafford, a Cal alumnus) were (playing) in Brazil. I’m sure they could have gone back.”

After leading Stanford to an NCAA championship in 1990, Azzi played professionally for five years in France, Italy and Sweden. She spent the past year with the gold-medal U.S. Olympic team. She is giving up some well-deserved sofa time to lend her stature to the enterprise she has supported since before it had a name.

“When I was done in Atlanta, I mean, what can top winning a gold medal?” she said. “But I feel like I have a responsibility. A lot of people supported (the women’s Olympic team) and marketed us. The support definitely is there. The time is right. I think people are hungry for something a little bit different.”

Would that be Kerri Strug hungry, or Chester McGlockton hungry? The South Bay is a logical location for an ABL franchise, considering the support it has given the Stanford women’s basketball team. Is there enough of an appetite to support both teams?

“I think initially (college coaches) might be a little leery about that,” Lowery said. “But I think eventually they’ll realize that anything that promotes women’s basketball is good for them.”

More daunting is a rival women’s professional league, backed by the NBA and scheduled to tip off next summer. Even Lowery concedes that two women’s leagues is probably one too many.

“We haven’t had any announcement on how (the WNBA) is going to operate,” she said. “I think we have an advantage. We’re playing in areas were people have supported women’s basketball. I think they’re going to be playing in big arenas in major metropolitan areas.”

The WNBA will also have the full weight of the NBA behind it, meaning commercial plugs on NBC, the marketing genius of David Stern and his minions, and - just you wait and see - the all-important Nike contract.

“It definitely puts a little pressure on the ABL,” Azzi said. “More than anything, it tells you we’re moving in the right direction. Because if you’ve got the NBA backing something, they’re all about money anyway.”

If this were based on merit and honest intentions alone, the ABL would be a slam dunk. Consider these dueling news items from Tuesday’s wire.

ABL: Announces signing of Olympic heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee. NBA: Sonics forward Shawn Kemp revealed to have driven off movie set in a huff after trying unsuccessfully to renegotiate contract from limo phone.

“There are a lot of good people in professional sports,” Lowery said, “but you hear about the bad ones. (Fans) are just ready for some fresh new people to follow.”

Fresh new people who work hard, and would appreciate whatever opportunity you could give them.

“Anybody who knows basketball likes the women’s game,” Azzi said. “The women’s game is generally recognized because it’s five people working together.

“We’re not trying to be guys. We don’t want what they want. We’re competitive. We’re athletic. But we want our own identity.”

They’ll get their chance starting next month.