This War and the WNBA
In celebration of Women’s History Month sheroes and heroines from all walks, kin and kith take center stage. The likes of Fannie Lou Hamer, Delores Huerta, Yuri Kochiyama, and Lorena Borjas to name a few, remind the world at large that “if it wasn’t for the women.” One of the first pioneers of basketball was a Black woman, Lusia Harris. Harris, who died earlier this year, was the only woman to play in the NBA and became the “Queen of Basketball.” As a fan of the WNBA since its inception 25 years ago, the historical significance of Harris’s moves in the NBA is profound to say the least.
However, a more recent and quite unsettling story of women in basketball holds center court. WNBA superstar Brittney Griner is detained in a Russian prison after being arrested at the airport because authorities said her luggage contained vape cartridges with hashish oil. For three weeks no one knew of Griner’s dire circumstances. To increase her earnings the Phoenix Mercury 6’9” center plays overseas as any number of WNBA players do. A star of Griner’s caliber makes $215,000 a year in professional basketball in the U.S. Time in Russia yields about $1 million. What an WNBA player makes a year, many NBA players earn each month, and for a few, it is a week’s pay.
What is just as inequitable is the inability of WNBA teams to travel via chartered flights. Teams must traverse airports as any other citizen. Really? Not championing superstar power, but can one imagine LeBron, Kyrie, Steph, or KD in and out terminals and going through TSA lines. WNBA Commissioners argue the removal of charter flying access levels the playing field among its teams. Again, the Lakers are a different market than the Grizzlies, and the Bulls have a little more of an advantage than the Pelicans. Yet, women are not allowed to capitalize on capitalism. It is inhumane that to earn their athletic worth, women players such as Griner are coerced to travel to subzero temperatures away from family and friends.
The Bible speaks of women who follow Jesus and give out of their own resources (Luke 8:1-3). Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna are three women in the midst of a patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrimonial context who, well, have money. They represent different classes and social status. Mary Magdalene is designated by her hometown and apparently has some issues with demons. Joanna is of political stature as her husband is a member of the imperial court. There is not much known of Susanna, except she is among the company who can also provide some assistance to Jesus and his ministry. Here are women of worth working the system in the first century. They can serve as a model for self-sufficient, fiscally secure women in the 21st century. Griner and WNBA players need the opportunity to make all they can while they can.
While the WNBA needs to come to terms with the intra-sexism within its organization, of primary concern for now, is Griner’s safety. She is a queer, Black woman imprisoned in a foreign country. The U.S. is at war with Russia. Russia has no small feelings for American bureaucracy. Griner’s agent, WNBA commissioners, and U.S. officials are aware of her status. No doubt Putin is as well. May Griner not become Putin’s pawn or Biden’s blunder in an unjust, unethical war against Ukraine.
Holy One, hear our prayer. Amen.
