‘What are the networks afraid of?’: Analyst asks why WNBA doesn’t have more male broadcasters
· Yahoo Sports
We’ve had no shortage of takes recently about what is wrong with the WNBA, but longtime NBA journalist Ric Bucher’s complaint is an original one.
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During the latest episode of his podcast, Bucher discussed a number of WNBA-related topics, including how the league is covered. During this portion of the program, the Fox Sports analyst questioned the lack of men on the league’s national television broadcasts.
‘All of it feels like a girls’ club’
“The only males you will find on a national broadcast now are young, up-and-comers doing play-by-play,” Bucher said. “Is the WNBA not worthy of being discussed and dissected by a variety of voices and perspectives in the same way the NBA is? There are some smart, basketball-savvy women, both in the studio and the broadcast booth, but I don’t hear a whole lot of differing opinion or debate.”
Bucher went on to cite the recent flagrant foul by the Chicago Sky’s DiJonai Carrington on Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever as an instance where he feels WNBA on-air personalities came up short.
“It all comes off as safe and monotone and cookie cutter, especially when it comes to controversial topics,” Bucher said. “DiJonai took Sophie Cunningham’s head off, and the broadcasters were debating whether it would be elevated to a Flagrant 2. They sounded afraid to say it, even after multiple replays showed DiJonai made no attempt to make a play on the ball. The studio analysts were no better.
“All of it feels like a girls’ club. The media protecting the league from real scrutiny or critique. I’ll ask again: What are they afraid of? Players can’t take it? That critiquing a woman in public is no way to treat one?”
No shortage of responses
Bucher’s opinion elicited feedback from around the media world, with many disagreeing vehemently with him but a few others saying he made valid points.
“C’mon, Ric. This is deeply unserious,” said Bucher’s former ESPN colleague Jemele Hill, including statistics about the overall number of white men in media.
“Those who consume sports media always talk about how they don’t want to hear voices from analysts unless they are former players. WNBA gives former players, and now it’s a problem?” added Joshua Sanchez.
“Very poor take here. Shocked Ric said it with his great track record. Sad,” said Tyrone Johnson of “The Craig Carton Show.”
“Ric will get ripped for this take, but he’s absolutely right,” countered VSiN’s Wes Reynolds. “There are plenty of male former W, or NBA, or high-level college coaches that can analyze women’s ball and vice versa for women on men’s ball. For instance, Stacey Dales was in the booth with Adam Amin & Jim Miller on the Bears preseason broadcast yesterday and was terrific. More divergent voices is better but it goes all ways.”
“This is so true,” added former columnist Dwight Jaynes.
Our brief take: while women are the focal point of the studio teams on WNBA national broadcasts, there is a pretty significant chunk of male journalists who cover the WNBA as beat writers, bloggers, podcasters, local broadcasters and analysts, so its not like they are shut out of the sport.
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