Legendary women’s basketball player and ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo encountered a disheartening example of sexism that she shared with fans on social media.
“Something happened to me that has never happened before,” she said as she began her story.
Lobo was coaching her 15-year-old son’s AAU team and one of her players was knocked down. Of course she responded and shouted, “That’s a foul!” which resulted in a technical foul by one official. Nothing unusual there. But then the other referee approached Lobo.
“So when the kid on the other team made a free throw, the other referee came over and said, ‘Your kid slipped,’” Lobo said. “And I said, ‘He didn’t slip; he was fouled.'”
Lobo explained that she responded in a normal tone and volume. Even though she didn’t scream, it prompted a response that still surprised the UConn star and WNBA All-Star as she recapped the incident.
“And this referee, a man, looked at me and said, ‘This is a grown man’s game. This is not a women’s game,’” she said, still in disbelief that this was happening in 2024.
The first question that comes to mind is: did the referee know who he was talking to? Lobo is one of the biggest stars in women’s basketball. She won the national championship with UConn in 1995 and had her jersey number retired by the school. She won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She played six seasons in the WNBA, including the inaugural campaign.
It doesn’t matter that that referee was also officiating a match involving 15-year-old athletes. No “grown men” on the field yet.
Lobo is also one of the sport’s biggest supporters as a broadcaster for college and professional women’s basketball. She demonstrated that at the end of her video by encouraging fans to watch Saturday’s WNBA game between the Indiana Fever “grown women” and New York Liberty.
Unfortunately, it’s probably safe to guess that the referee Lobo is dealing with won’t be watching. For some people there is still a long way to go towards acceptance.
