There is no doubt that the 2015 WNBA season kicked off with a healthy dose of interesting situations. Whether it was the decision by league superstar Diana Taurasi to take this season off, the Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson saga, or the hiring of Isiah Thomas, the league has faced a number of issues that showcase some of the issues we are facing as a society: unequal pay, domestic violence, and sexual harassment.
Shortly before tip-off at this year’s All-Star Game, WNBA president Laurel Richie sat down with the media to deliver the state of the league address, where she talked optimistically about the rise in ticket sales, attendance, and their expanding presence across social media platforms. Check out the full speech below:
Afterwards, the floor was opened for questions, and the media seeked a ton of answers regarding some of the recent events that have taken place. Here are some key questions that were asked, along with her responses:
The Shock’s Move to Dallas
Q: First off, talk about the move to Tulsa, which obviously from Tulsa to Dallas, which came up by the board of governors approving it the other day. Secondly talk about expansion and what you have planned. I think you said there may be a committee being formed to look into it?
LAUREL RICHIE: Yes. Bill Cameron, majority owner of the Tulsa Shock, who has been with that team for the past six years, came to us and said that through his thinking, discussions, and investigation, he was interested in relocating the team to the Dallas market and his belief is that the potential within the fanbase, the potential within the corporate community offers a great opportunity for the Shock team. And he’s fully committed to making that move and making great things happen in Dallas. The board of governors unanimously approved his request.
But as excited as we are about that move to Dallas, I would be remiss if I didn’t genuinely thank the people of Tulsa who have been supportive of that team in the time that it’s been in Tulsa, and we’ll see they may be rewarded with their first appearance in the postseason.
The second question was about expansion. That’s a conversation that it seems we have every year, and I always say it gets closer and closer. This year we’ll be forming a committee, an expansion committee to really take a look at it and to think about making a concrete plan and a concrete strategy for how we think about it, how we approach it, the timing.
So it’s not that I am saying that expansion is absolutely on the horizon, and if the follow?up is when it will be. There is no date. But I do feel like based on the calls that we’re getting, the expression of interest from owners, potential owners from different geographies and the depth of talent in the league that I think is prime for expansion, we will now formally begin that to form a committee to talk about that.
Expanding WNBA All-Star Weekend
Q: Last time you were here just two years ago there were some concerns voiced by players about coming back to the Mohegan Sun Arena when you were having breakfast with them. Were any of those concerns voiced again in this go around? Also, do you see plans for expansion of the All?Star activities? Maybe some kind of skills competition or anything like that?
LAUREL RICHIE: You could have been in the breakfast I had with players this morning. The really positive thing is we didn’t hear any complaints whatsoever from our players. They’re excited to be here. As I said earlier, the team here really does a terrific job of putting together a great weekend and perhaps having had some time in Phoenix last year, a little mixing it up a little bit. But we heard absolutely nothing, and I’ve spent the weekend with them and haven’t heard anything, but they’re excited to be All?Stars. What was the first part?
Q: The skills competition.
LAUREL RICHIE: So that was the piece they did talk about this morning is thinking about at the right time in the right way. We want to bring ?? I don’t think it’s so much that we would bring it back the way it’s done before, but we’d look to identify ways to showcase talent beyond the game.
So I can’t promise if that will happen next year. We’ve had lots of ideas, even from many in this room with respect to what we might do. But I think we are interested in playing around with our format, and that’s the thing as we think about the next 20 years that falls underneath that umbrella of how do we enhance some of our initiatives and platforms.
Tough Decisions At the Start of the Season
Q: Considering how the season started with the issues and some tough decisions you had to make and tough questions you had to answer, both with the Brittney Griner-Glory Johnson suspensions, and the Isiah Thomas ownership issue, has this season been the most challenging for you in terms of being an executive? Can you maybe talk about that, if it has been?
LAUREL RICHIE: I don’t know that it’s been the most difficult. In many ways I think back to my first season when I was brand new and had an entire industry to learn. That is a different kind of difficult. But when you step into a position as president of a league, I remember a feeling from day one wanting to know everything possible so that I could contribute in significant ways from day one. So I think from a leadership standpoint that’s a certain set of challenges.
What I am very proud of, of the challenges that we faced at the beginning of this season, is the way in which the team at the league came together, and we were very thoughtful. We were very focused. We were very committed to letting the process unfold. I am a very big believer in when you follow the process and stay true to the process and all that that entails, whether you’re investigating, vetting, deciding, all of that. When the process is in place and you follow it with great rigor, nine times out of ten you’re going to get to the right and very good place at the end. So I think that’s just been reaffirmed. The importance of that has been reaffirmed for me given some of the things we dealt with at the beginning of the season.
You can read the full transcripts of both the address and the Q&A session by clicking here.
(Original Story: HoopFeed)
