Organizing for America | David Martin's Blog: Bias in the WNBA ?

Bias in the WNBA ?

By David from Lynnwood, WA - Oct 24th, 2009 at 4:21 am EDT

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I just wanted to share a message I sent to a friend of mine on Myspace. She is a professional basketball player in Greece. She is arguably the best 2-guard in the world, yet she has been blacklisted by the WNBA because of an act her brother committed, which landed him in prison. Her name is Giuliana Mendiola and while in her senior year at the University of Washington Giuliana Mendiola averaged 23.1 points; 4.9 assists; 2 steals and 5.2 rebounds as a 5’11” 2-guard at the University of Washington. She was informed she would be drafted by the Seattle Storm, coached by Anne Donovan at the time. When the 2004 WNBA College Draft approached, Giuliana was ignored by everyone because of the acts her brother committed. Giuliana had no part in this act, yet she was blacklisted. I was a guest columnist with the Seattle Times and wrote the following article < http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040425&slug=mytake25 >. MY MESSAGE: Oct 24 2009 12:19 AM Hey Giuli,
are you back to playing ball overseas? I tried to add Fab to my friends list, but I do not know his email, which it required in order for me to send the request.

I hope you're in a good situation with your team overseas, but I wish you were playing ball in the WNBA even more so. You and Shelia Lambert are without a doubt the best 1-2 guards in the world, but the ridiculous politicking by coaches like Anne Donovan and others have blacklisted both of you.

I wish the Federal government would do a probe of this bias against persons of color in the WNBA. I would hope the President Obama would create a commission to look into this continuing problem which I have seen go on for far too long. It's racist and it's wrong and should be dealt with immediately.

Dr. Phil did a show on racism and bias on his show today which I believe went a long way to eradicate this disease of the mind in our social consciousness.

Love you my friend,
David Giuliana, as a walk on with the Sacramento Monarchs, received no playing time, except in a televised game against Los Angeles where she almost single handedly brought her team back from a 20 plus point disadvantage in the closing moments of the game. She’s a very positive minded person, but it’s heartbreaking to see her not be given the opportunity to play in the WNBA and be given the playing time to showcase her talent. There have been other players who I’ve spoken with who played for Miss Donovan, never to be allowed back into the WNBA as well. In the end, I believe the fact that Giuliana is a heterosexual and a devout Catholic may have played a role in being blacklisted. I was so concentrated on race when I wrote that article in 2004; I didn't take into account these other two components, which I have found to be as pertinent as race, if not more so. I would wish that the President would assign a commission to look into the bias that exists in the WNBA, which have affected other players as well as Giuliana over the years.

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