As we wait for the WNBA to hand out punishments today for the altercation on Tuesday night that involved Naperville Central graduate Candace Parker altering her pristine image, Los Angeles Times columnist Helene Elliott said the fight could be a positive event for the league and women's sports.
Essentially, Elliott wrote that this will alter the way sports fans view women in sports.
Tuesday wasn't a dark day for the WNBA. It should signal the dawn of an era in which female athletes are appreciated for being competitive and fiery. No apologies necessary.
I tend to agree with Ellliott that the controversy is good for the WNBA for a few reasons. The No. 1 reason is publicity. The second reason is it involved Candace Parker, who is essentially the same thing as the WNBA at this point.
When Parker quickly stood up and fought back when Plenette Pierson (a name nobody knew until then and we will soon forget) dealt the play, what we saw was the WNBA standing up for itself.
Pierson was so out of control that her teammate Cheryl Ford injured her knee trying to hold Pierson back and will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
Parker, a heavily hyped rookie, has been tested by opponents all season and she had to stick up for herself. She might be suspended a game or two, but eight games is a good starting point for Pierson.
Of less importance to most of you I guess, but of interest to me is the pink elephant of gender that it was Elliott that wrote this column. If you are thinking my interest is that it wasn't Times lead columnist Bill Plaschke or Page 2 sourpuss T.J. Simers that wrote it, you're half correct. If you put stock in the order columnists are listed on the Times Web site, Elliott is fourth on the totem pole, which says something about the subject matter.
My main curiosity is that Elliott was an award-winning hockey writer before getting her column. She knows the value of a good fight.
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