Intimate partner violence

[azfan]

As WNBA faces domestic violence problem, new commissioner stresses ‘protecting the brand’

Cathy Englebert inherited a festering problem from her predecessors. Now her first big test will be solving it.

thinkprogress.org

From this article:

If the WNBA had a policy that allowed it to put players on a paid suspension while investigations into this matter were pending — similar to what the NFL and NBA do — then this wouldn’t be quite as big of a problem. The league wouldn’t have to put Howard front and center during its All-Star week celebrations. But, five years ago, when pro sports leagues across the country were revamping their domestic violence policies in the wake of the Ray Rice case, the WNBA wasn’t proactive.

This is really an understatement. After every other professional league was roiled by domestic or intimate partner violence over the WNBA took no action to include current responses to this serious issue in either the CBA or within the league structures and rules and regulations. Really it's baffling how a league that's struggling to find a place could miss this significant issue. The article quoted above makes a very important point about the current impact and consequences of this failure to act. Significantly having Natasha Howard front-and-center during the all-star activities is problematic to say the least. Due process definitely requires that she and Riquna Williams operate under the presumption of innocence. However the credibility of the accusations, the public evidence, and the ongoing investigations are reminiscent of the Ray Rice fiasco.

I'm not sure how this relates to this topic but I couldn't help but think of Candace Wiggin's public statement upon her withdrawl or retirement from the league.

" Candice Wiggins called her experience playing in the WNBA "toxic," a major reason the former No. 3 draft pick says she abruptly retired at age 29 last year.

In an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune published Monday, Wiggins called the culture in the league "very, very harmful"

Candice Wiggins: Was target of WNBA players throughout career Wiggins: Bullied during career in 'toxic' WNBA
via @ESPN App http://espn.com/app

I remember reacting with skepticism upon reading Wiggins comments a player who I followed with interest in college and her professional career. Looking back from today's perspective with what we now see roiling the league I have a different perspective and certainly her comment about toxicity resonates.

 

[bballnut90]

As WNBA faces domestic violence problem, new commissioner stresses ‘protecting the brand’

Cathy Englebert inherited a festering problem from her predecessors. Now her first big test will be solving it.

thinkprogress.org

From this article:

If the WNBA had a policy that allowed it to put players on a paid suspension while investigations into this matter were pending — similar to what the NFL and NBA do — then this wouldn’t be quite as big of a problem. The league wouldn’t have to put Howard front and center during its All-Star week celebrations. But, five years ago, when pro sports leagues across the country were revamping their domestic violence policies in the wake of the Ray Rice case, the WNBA wasn’t proactive.

This is really an understatement. After every other professional league was roiled by domestic or intimate partner violence over the WNBA took no action to include current responses to this serious issue in either the CBA or within the league structures and rules and regulations. Really it's baffling how a league that's struggling to find a place could miss this significant issue. The article quoted above makes a very important point about the current impact and consequences of this failure to act. Significantly having Natasha Howard front-and-center during the all-star activities is problematic to say the least. Due process definitely requires that she and Riquna Williams operate under the presumption of innocence. However the credibility of the accusations, the public evidence, and the ongoing investigations are reminiscent of the Ray Rice fiasco.

I'm not sure how this relates to this topic but I couldn't help but think of Candace Wiggin's public statement upon her withdrawl or retirement from the league.

" Candice Wiggins called her experience playing in the WNBA "toxic," a major reason the former No. 3 draft pick says she abruptly retired at age 29 last year.

In an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune published Monday, Wiggins called the culture in the league "very, very harmful"

Candice Wiggins: Was target of WNBA players throughout career Wiggins: Bullied during career in 'toxic' WNBA
via @ESPN App http://espn.com/app

I remember reacting with skepticism upon reading Wiggins comments a player who I followed with interest in college and her professional career. Looking back from today's perspective with what we now see roiling the league I have a different perspective and certainly her comment about toxicity resonates.

I agree that the league has its issues that are coming full circle this season, but I wouldn't put a ton of stock into Candice Wiggins trashing the league on her way out. It wouldve been one thing if she handled it with a little more class and dignity but she trashed everyone in the league and made unnecessary homophobic comments that made her lose credibility to me.

I may be completely wrong, but from the articles/comments I've read from players, it seems like most players in the league get along and have similar grievances about the league in general. Havent heard from anyone besides Wiggins about toxicity issues among players which makes me think it's likely isolated to her, and maybe a few others who've kept quiet. The toxicity issue mentioned regarding poor policy planning stems from the league rather than the players.

 

[azfan]

I found it interesting that the article five storylines in the WNBA after the All-Star break posted over on the rookie of the year thread made no mention of intimate party violence as one of those storylines. With both the Williams and Howard cases moving forward it would seem to me that this would also be an important story line. Perhaps this is one of the contributing factors to the challenge in professional sports is that it's not viewed as significantly or as important as other issues. The discussion of the challenges facing the new commissioner also did not seem to include this issue. And any of them I did find the following information that implies intimate party violence may occur less in women's sports than men's.

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals

Subscription and open access journals from SAGE Publishing, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I found it interesting that the article five storylines in the WNBA after the All-Star break posted over on the rookie of the year thread made no mention of intimate party violence as one of those storylines

@azfan , specific excerpt from the list of post-ASG storylines from the link you referenced:

All Eyes on the New WNBA Commissioner
Cathy Engelbert was appointed as the first WNBA commissioner in May, and she had her work cut out for her from the jump. She’s already faced difficult situations, including the league’s investigation into the L.A. Sparks’ Riquna Williams over a domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend (Williams was suspended 10 games), and she’ll be expected to take charge of this Howard situation as well.

The Five Biggest Story Lines of the WNBA’s Second Half

The All-Star break is over, and teams are prepping for the stretch run. As the Aces look to earn a first-round bye and Phoenix fights to stay in the mix, here’s what to watch for the rest of the regular season.

www.theringer.com

 

[azfan]

@azfan , specific excerpt from the list of post-ASG storylines from the link you referenced:

All Eyes on the New WNBA Commissioner
Cathy Engelbert was appointed as the first WNBA commissioner in May, and she had her work cut out for her from the jump. She’s already faced difficult situations, including the league’s investigation into the L.A. Sparks’ Riquna Williams over a domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend (Williams was suspended 10 games), and she’ll be expected to take charge of this Howard situation as well.

The Five Biggest Story Lines of the WNBA’s Second Half

The All-Star break is over, and teams are prepping for the stretch run. As the Aces look to earn a first-round bye and Phoenix fights to stay in the mix, here’s what to watch for the rest of the regular season.

www.theringer.com

"She’s already faced difficult situations, including the league’s investigation into the L.A. Sparks’ Riquna Williams over a domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend (Williams was suspended 10 games), and she’ll be expected to take charge of this Howard situation as well."

The the title of the article were five storylines going forward after the All-Star break. The article in the sentence you point out, did reference pre-all-star incident with Williams and did include a single clause indicating she'll be expected to deal with the Natasha Howard situation. In an analysis of several thousand words and five major points of analysis I guess my reaction was this was minimal attention when thinking about the overall scope of an article that provides one view about five major concerns for the WNBA going forward. The issue of the commissioner was one of those five points and not the issue of intimate partner violence which to my way of thinking is the preeminent issue for the WNBA going forward.

I do think it's important that there is some discussion of intimate partner violence on this board and hopefully going forward not only for the remainder of this season but for the longer-term there will be both conversation and attention leading to meaningful action by the league about this issue.

 

[j66kicker]

"She’s already faced difficult situations, including the league’s investigation into the L.A. Sparks’ Riquna Williams over a domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend (Williams was suspended 10 games), and she’ll be expected to take charge of this Howard situation as well."

The the title of the article were five storylines going forward after the All-Star break. The article in the sentence you point out, did reference pre-all-star incident with Williams and did include a single clause indicating she'll be expected to deal with the Natasha Howard situation. In an analysis of several thousand words and five major points of analysis I guess my reaction was this was minimal attention when thinking about the overall scope of an article that provides one view about five major concerns for the WNBA going forward. The issue of the commissioner was one of those five points and not the issue of intimate partner violence which to my way of thinking is the preeminent issue for the WNBA going forward.

I do think it's important that there is some discussion of intimate partner violence on this board and hopefully going forward not only for the remainder of this season but for the longer-term there will be both conversation and attention leading to meaningful action by the league about this issue.

This is an unusual year, in that two incidents involving WNBA players have been reported - actually one documented "incident" plus a self-recorded cell phone video with unverified accusations against another player. I don't know if 2 out of 144 is disproportionately high relative to the general population, but it doesn't seem like it would make this the "preeminent issue for the WNBA going forward." WNBA should just develop a standard policy on how to handle it, follow the policy consistently (unlike the NFL), then get out of the way and let the legal and social systems handle it.

To me the preeminent issue for the WNBA going forward is the urgent need to expand their consumer market so they can survive.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

"She’s already faced difficult situations, including the league’s investigation into the L.A. Sparks’ Riquna Williams over a domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend (Williams was suspended 10 games), and she’ll be expected to take charge of this Howard situation as well."

The the title of the article were five storylines going forward after the All-Star break. The article in the sentence you point out, did reference pre-all-star incident with Williams and did include a single clause indicating she'll be expected to deal with the Natasha Howard situation. In an analysis of several thousand words and five major points of analysis I guess my reaction was this was minimal attention when thinking about the overall scope of an article that provides one view about five major concerns for the WNBA going forward. The issue of the commissioner was one of those five points and not the issue of intimate partner violence which to my way of thinking is the preeminent issue for the WNBA going forward.

Sorry, @azfan , but I have to disagree.

First, as I explained above, it was referenced in a discussion about the new WNBA Commissioner.

Second (and arguably more pertinent) the premise of the article -- using the title and byline summary-- was as follows:

The Five Biggest Story Lines of the WNBA's Second Half
The All-Star break is over, and teams are prepping for the stretch run. As the Aces look to earn a first-round bye and Phoenix fights to stay in the mix, here’s what to watch for the rest of the regular season.

Having a new policy addressing domestic violence -- as well as other policies/compliance issues, the failure of players to adhere to could result in discipline -- is something that must be taken up in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Those formal negotiations, about a new CBA, are not going to fully take place until after the season is over.