Ignatius L Hoops
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http://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/article/23435084/area-21-authentically-embraces-women-athletes
Some nights the show is made up of a hodgepodge of topics that Garnett has been thinking about that week, sometimes they revolve around the game of the night, and other shows have a theme, like the aforementioned "Legends Night" or last November's "Ladies Night," with current WNBA vets Sue Bird and Lindsay Whalen, Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and former Stanford standout Rosalyn Gold-Onwude.
Whalen, a four-time WNBA champion, talked about the challenge the Warriors were facing at the start of the season, getting up for early regular-season games when you're coming off a championship year. Cooper-Dyke addressed how media and fans forgot that her Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997 to 2000 when they congratulated the Astros on the city's first title since the 1994-95 Rockets. A question from a fan, delivered by Wonder Boy, resulted in likely the first time on mainstream TV that a panel engaged in a debate over whether the Cooper-Dyke-era Comets would beat the Whelan-era Minnesota Lynx.
To cap off the night, Sue Bird drained nine shots from the top of the key in 24 seconds to break the "Heat Check" record of seven, set by Bonzi Wells, then turned and said to Garnett with a wink, "Tell Bonzi I said 'Wassup.'"
"What I love about it is we bring in every guest without an agenda," says August. "We don't bring in women and say 'Let's make sure we talk about how hard it is to be a female athlete and a mom.' If that comes up, it comes up. Let's come in and talk basketball and if the conversation leads to being a working mother, so be it. Same with the guys. We don't bring Rasheed [Wallace] in and ask him about his personal life, unless he brings it up and goes there. Our female guests shouldn't be treated any differently."
While it's certainly still useful -- necessary, in fact -- to address issues of sexism, equal coverage and underrepresentation in women's sports head-on, there's also a need for exactly what "Area 21" does so well, which is to just put athletes -- men and women -- on an even playing field where shared wisdom and experiences see no gender.
Garnett isn't going to deliver a sermon on the tiny percentage of media coverage devoted to women's sports or implore fans to tune in to WNBA games, he's just going to put talented women front and center and let them shine.
Some nights the show is made up of a hodgepodge of topics that Garnett has been thinking about that week, sometimes they revolve around the game of the night, and other shows have a theme, like the aforementioned "Legends Night" or last November's "Ladies Night," with current WNBA vets Sue Bird and Lindsay Whalen, Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and former Stanford standout Rosalyn Gold-Onwude.
Whalen, a four-time WNBA champion, talked about the challenge the Warriors were facing at the start of the season, getting up for early regular-season games when you're coming off a championship year. Cooper-Dyke addressed how media and fans forgot that her Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997 to 2000 when they congratulated the Astros on the city's first title since the 1994-95 Rockets. A question from a fan, delivered by Wonder Boy, resulted in likely the first time on mainstream TV that a panel engaged in a debate over whether the Cooper-Dyke-era Comets would beat the Whelan-era Minnesota Lynx.
To cap off the night, Sue Bird drained nine shots from the top of the key in 24 seconds to break the "Heat Check" record of seven, set by Bonzi Wells, then turned and said to Garnett with a wink, "Tell Bonzi I said 'Wassup.'"
"What I love about it is we bring in every guest without an agenda," says August. "We don't bring in women and say 'Let's make sure we talk about how hard it is to be a female athlete and a mom.' If that comes up, it comes up. Let's come in and talk basketball and if the conversation leads to being a working mother, so be it. Same with the guys. We don't bring Rasheed [Wallace] in and ask him about his personal life, unless he brings it up and goes there. Our female guests shouldn't be treated any differently."
While it's certainly still useful -- necessary, in fact -- to address issues of sexism, equal coverage and underrepresentation in women's sports head-on, there's also a need for exactly what "Area 21" does so well, which is to just put athletes -- men and women -- on an even playing field where shared wisdom and experiences see no gender.
Garnett isn't going to deliver a sermon on the tiny percentage of media coverage devoted to women's sports or implore fans to tune in to WNBA games, he's just going to put talented women front and center and let them shine.
