Sheryl Swoopes says she's a lesbian, says some interesting things

Cut the hair a little shorter and you couldn't get any more Butch.

 

Interesting to see how this impacts the WNBA. I've always thought that the WNBA had a good marketing niche in that it could be about family values (bring your daughters out to the game), while having the unspoken acknowledgment that some of the families had two mommies. [Buster]That's a lot of mommies![/Buster]

My opinion (like Gringo's -- based on nothing) is that discussing this in public could hurt the WNBA's long-term viability.

 

Sara Whalen is HOT!!! I'd like to see her LUG'in at UConn.

 

Disagree. I mean, if that were true, I'd want to watch a bunch of you guys making out. And the mere thought of that makes me want to hurl. Ergo, it is false.

 

She's about the third or fourth actually. She's just the most prominant.

 

I think she gets slammed. Just because.

Ultimately, does it matter?

Some gay activists want it to be nature, some nurture. If nature, then maybe you argue being gay is like being black, white or whatever, you are born that way. But do they really want that?

The issue though is this. Suppose they find a "gay gene." "Genetic counseling" these days is common for pregnent women (my wife and I went to the counseling, but refused the amnio). Personally, I think it a scam and full of ethical dilemas (we decided, no abortion, even if the baby turned out to have problems). But what if genetic counseling could determine if the child would be more likely to be gay.

Personally, if I had to answer, I think it a little of both. There are branches of my family were there seem to be more gay people than statistically expected. Yet my lesbian cousin's sister was absolutely boy crazy.

But again, in the end, who cares? So long as they are not doing the nasty in front of me, I really do not care.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the NY Liberty have two known lesbians?

Rick Reilly is on Dan Patrick now on ESPN Radio and he threw out the figure that 1/4 - 1/3 of the league is lesbian.

Like I was telling a friend earlier....women's sports is "quietly known" that a number of their fans and athletes are gay.

 

The question I'm posing is whether it is better marketing for the leagues to be Quietly Known vs. Loud and Proud?

It's an interesting dilemma since marketing is supposed to be all about sales, not morality.

 

"I'll have two lesbians."

 

The real question is, does this make it easier for Landon to come out?

 

Who was that gay dude in the NFL on 60 minutes a few years back?

 

I think it's a bit of both, but leaning towards a conservative side to it all. I just don't think giants like Coke or Proctor & Gamble will welcome with open arms an advertising campaign that features a butch looking WNBA'er pimping their products.

I think it would be smart for companies to use known lesbians, but not for them to be so "in-your-face" about it. Look at Subaru...they used Martina as part of their marketing campaign a number of years ago and I don't recall any big backlash from the general public. Abby Wambach is somewhat known to a number of women's soccer fans as being a lesbian (although she hasn't come out and publicly acknowledged it yet) and she is featured in Nike ads.

 

Joe Montana.

 

Wasn't it some role player/off the bench lineman that played in Green Bay and Minnesota? That definately made big news, but after a while it was forgotten about. In part due to the fact that he really was a no-name player and probably mostly due to macho sports like the NFL is just not the place to discuss this type of subject.

 

Jeff Garthia???

I don't think this will make any difference for WNBA marketing. It's not like anyone except radical lesbians goes anyway. I'm not neccesarily sure I want to see a lot of the, uh, "females" in that league getting it on anyway.

 

The WNBA sucks

 

Becky Hammon is just oozing with marketing potential.

 

Apparently a lot of them actually don't.

 

Who really cares except those who intend to profit from her self-outing.

 

She definitely has "Mitts" appeal.

 

I assume you know that's a gross over generalization.

I think the WNBA actively markets its product to young girls and families. And young girls and families make up a pretty decent share of the audience at a WNBA game. I think it is Quietly Known that a significant portion of the audience is also lesbians. I don't think it's the majority and it's not the marketing aim of the WNBA.

I would think that perception of the league as a lesbian league could have an impact on the families/young girls market segment and ultimately therefore the viability of the league. Sheryl Swoopes has such a high profile for the league that she may have changed the perception of the league in .. uh. .. one fell swoope. . .I guess we'll see.