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What the WNBA Can Learn from the ABL

© Michelle Parke

Before the WNBA, there was the American Basketball League (ABL) which was the grassroots women's pro basketball league. The WNBA started with the money and marketing power of the NBA and signed some of the biggest names in women's basketball. In contrast, the ABL began with a few investors and signed some of the most talented, yet unknown, players in women's basketball.

The WNBA locked in great television deals and sponsors while the ABL struggled with garnering media exposure. Both leagues offered affordable ticket prices, which attracted a fan base of families especially those with aspiring young female basketball players. Both leagues targeted their marketing efforts to these young athletes and their families. However, the ABL seemed to have a more successful grassroots program than the WNBA even though it may have gone unnoticed by the mainstream audience. The composition of the women's professional basketball audience is families and lesbians. The WNBA ignored (and to an extent, still does) this latter group. Slowly, the WNBA is beginning to acknowledge their presense.

The ABL, on the other hand, certainly made an effort to recognize the support of the lesbian community. The ABL was more realistic than its counterpart. It knew the fans were both families and lesbians, and in order to keep the latter group, they needed to recognize their support. In addition, the ABL knew many of its players and staff were members of the gay community and maybe this was the league's way of showing their support of those within the league.

"The fact is that the majority of players are gay, and a lot of management, and people who work with women's basketball," said Valerie Still, former member of the ABL and Washington Mystics in an interview with SportsJones Magazine. "When you try to hide the fact, you're saying there's something wrong. You're not trying to understand that person. And, if there are people who aren't in agreement with homosexuality, are you miseducating them?" Still continues by adding the lesbian community "has always supported women's basketball. I know with the ABL - excuse those three letters - we made it a point of recognizing that. We would have celebrations in local gay bars. Those were the people that supported us; that's why we're here."

The ABL's support of its lesbian fans kept the seats filled. With the demise of the ABL, the WNBA is now the sole women's pro basketball league in the U.S., and it continues to grow each year. With this expansion, the need for the league to recognize its lesbian fans grows as well. In August of 1999, New York Liberty fans handed out stickers in front of Madison Square Garden reading "Lesbian Fans Are Filling Your Stands." This no doubt brought smiles to the faces of the Liberty fans and players alike. The WNBA has begun to show signs of supporting the lesbian community. There have been advertisements for the league in lesbian publications. However, the WNBA can certainly learn from the ABL regarding this area of marketing. It cannot ignore more than half of its fan base or its players and staff. The lesbian community has continually supported not only women's basketball but women's athletics. This support is not solely through speaking up on behalf of these sports, but monetarily as well. They are the season ticket holders and they are spending money on merchandise. The WNBA should not take away from its marketing efforts towards the families by any means. It should simply expand its marketing efforts to include the lesbian community. Keep those seats filled by supporting the women buying the tickets.

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