WNBA take cutbacks just in time for National Girls and Women in Sports Day

As this Wednesday, February 4th, was National Girls and Women in Sports Day, our friend Nancy Goldstein has a post up on Broadsheet about how the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has taken a big hit from the recession; teams are being mandated to cut their rosters from 13 to 11 players. Here’s a snippet:

It’s terrible news whenever any organization eliminates 20 percent of its workforce and people suddenly find themselves unemployed in a weak economy. But as the WNBA struggles, and if it folds, it’s taking along something else with it: the hopes of the first generation of Title IX-era female athletes who went through high school and college thinking they might someday actually be able to make a living playing a professional team sport.
The WNBA currently represents the only significant women’s professional team sports franchise in the U.S. (The Women’s United Soccer Association failed after only three seasons, in 2003, and women’s football and softball have never taken off, despite several attempts.) And its inception in 1996 changed the scene for aspiring women athletes.
“For me personally, knowing that the WNBA was there as a possibility made a difference in my goal setting as a high school student, my work ethic as a college athlete and my fulfillment as a professional athlete,” says Kara Lawson, 26, who chose to pursue basketball over soccer after the WNBA’s inception during her sophomore year of high school. Lawson was one of coach Pat Summit’s stars at the University of Tennessee prior to being picked fifth in the 2003 WNBA draft, and is now a point guard for the 2005 WNBA championship Sacramento Monarchs, as well as an analyst for ESPN.

Lawson’s comment really resonated with me. It reminded me of when I was the coordinator for a girl’s basketball league in Brooklyn – after their season ended, our organization (GGE) brought the girls to see New York Liberty team play, and I’ve honestly never seen a group of girls look more excited and inspired. So these cutbacks are not only a threat to the very existence to the WNBA, but possibly an even bigger threat to the girls out there that aspire to achieve their best in life by watching their favorite ball players on that court.
On a more positive note for the sports fans – what female athletes inspired you growing up? (Or inspire you now?)