A New Version of an Age-Old Debate

Once again, a debate has raged that seems to always rear its head whenever a female athlete thoroughly dominates her sport. Billie Jean King dealt with it. Martina Navratilova dealt with it, and now, Serena Williams is dealing with it. Seemingly, whenever a woman dominates her sport, someone will state publicly that the dominant woman could not be a low level male competitor. This type of conversation led to Billie Jean King facing off against Bobby Riggs, and now Serena is hearing the same type of commentary.

Apparently, Serena, the most dominant female tennis player since Steffi Graf, could not compete with the 700^th ranked male tennis player. Some said that Martina could not either; and neither could Steffi. However, they shouldn’t feel so bad because it has also been said that the Minnesota Lynx, the WNBA team that has competed in five of the last six WNBA Finals, winning three titles, could not defeat an average high school boy’s team.

While it is true that men are customarily bigger, stronger and faster than are women, and in sporting events where these attributes are front and center, it could be perceived that men would perform better than would women. However, in certain other sports, overall strength and speed might not be the most important physical traits, and in those situations, it is very possible that a woman could outperform a man.

Tennis is not just about strength and speed. Footwork, shot-making decision-making and physical endurance are vital components to championship tennis. The 700^th ranked man is ranked 700^th because he is lacking in one or more of these attributes while Serena is not. The players on a high school boy’s basketball team might be better athletes, but the Lynx are more than likely a better team, and in basketball, the best team has a better chance of winning than do a group of superior athletes. Also, just because a man can drive a golf ball 325 yards, if he doesn’t hit the ball straight, he will shoot a 5 on par 4 hole while the top woman, who finds nearly every fairway, and hits nearly every green in regulation, might shoot a three on the same hole.

This is not to say that Serena Williams, Lydia Ko or the Minnesota Lynx would definitely defeat most men in their respective sports, but since some sports require things other than basic strength and speed to be successful, it is possible that a woman could defeat a man. It would depend on the sport and the combatants.

Get Off of My (NBA) Grass

Despite the fact that Lebron James is universally recognized as the best basketball on the planet, the NBA is currently in the midst of the Steph Curry Era. Curry is the two-time and reigning league Most Valuable Player, and seemingly came out of nowhere to become the best shooter in the league, and to lead the Golden State Warriors to three consecutive NBA Finals. Again, Lebron will be playing in his seventh consecutive Finals, his eighth overall, and he is the first player to take two teams to the Finals four times each. However, past players don’t cast nearly as much negative criticism towards James as Curry receives.

All of the criticism that Curry and his team receives reminds me of when I was a child and my senior citizen neighbors were constantly telling me to get off of their grass. It was not so much about the grass as it was about the fact that they were trying to keep the children in their places, and let the children know that their elders were superior.

Steph Curry set records for three-pointers made in a season, and has achieved numerous other records and milestones during his career. However, no matter what Curry does, or what he accomplishes with the Warriors, former NBA players can never seem to applaud and compliment Curry. It seems as if the players of the past desire to keep Curry in his place as a youngster, just like the senior citizens did to the kids in my old neighborhood.

According to players like Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Shaq and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Warriors team that won 73 games in 2015-16 could not defeat Michael Jordan’s 1996 Bulls team. Also, Curry did not deserve to be a unanimous MVP, even though he won the award simply because none of the voters voted for anyone else. Beyond that, Curry’s Warriors supposedly could not even defeat Cedric Ceballos’ Suns teams, or Byron Russell’s Jazz teams. While these teams played in the NBA Finals, they both lost to Michael Jordan, while Curry won the NBA title one year, and lost in game 7 to a super-motivated Lebron James the next.

The most disturbing part of all of this is that these players, basketball lifers, cannot simply appreciate Curry for his accomplishments, and give him credit due him for being one of the top players in the NBA right now. Shaq and Kareem should be able to appreciate this because they both had to deal with being told that they were not as good as Wilt or Mikan. Yet, these men are among the detractors who seem content to put down Curry, mostly in an attempt to elevate Lebron James, though James’ accomplishments speak for themselves.

Curry is one of the top players in the NBA today. During the Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996-1998, Jordan’s Bulls set a record by winning 203 games, and along the way, they captured three championships. From 2015-2017, Curry’s Warriors broke the Bull’s record by winning 207 games, and will be appearing in their third-straight NBA Finals. It is about time for past NBA players to simply admit that Curry is an all-time great player, and to recognize that he is doing things that haven’t been done before, no matter what rules or styles of play have been changed. Curry needs to be compared to the teams and players against whom he is competing today, and not to teams that he could never play against because of differences in era and rules. Since Curry’s Warriors could never compete against Jordan’s Bulls, it really doesn’t matter which team is better.

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