ESPN features “The Selling of Candace Parker:” Can she transcend women’s sports?

Today, ESPN released a cover story with Candace Parker as part of their complete package of features for Women’s History Month 2009.

The story is well written, clear, inspiring and balanced. What’s great about it is the focus – a story about how Candace Parker is going to be marketed in the WNBA.

Parker is demanding a different kind of attention… the kind that focuses on her talent and her story, not her sex appeal. And that is the most promising thing I’ve heard about the future of women’s sports in a long, long time.

ESPN’s Allison Glock features Parker as one of the best, which is the attention that Parker deserves, as she’s set some serious milestones for women’s basketball over the past decade.

Glock says that Parker will “will transcend her sport:”

She will be a bigger Mia Hamm, a more accomplished Danica Patrick. Patrick is nowhere near the best in her field, but she doesn’t need to be, because she is hot enough to pose for Maxim. While that works for her, Parker wants more. She wants to be a champion, too, like Maria Sharapova, who earns upward of $25 million a year — the most of any female athlete — of which only a small fraction comes from playing tennis. Parker won’t be satisfied until she is a household name. “I wouldn’t mind being the female MJ,” she concedes. “I want to have major crossover appeal.”

What Parker doesn’t deserve is a focus on her sex appeal, which is something that’s started to happen. The focus on sex appeal has to do with female athletes appearing in Playboy and other like-minded disgraceful publications, largely due to the fact that those publications are willing to pay up.

Playboy-like publicity has serious repercussions for female athletes, as it promotes a focus body image. We learned that surfer Layne Beachle frequently suffered chronic fatigue and depression due to the focus on her body image in her career. We’ve also heard stories of female gymnists and volleyball players suffering the same kinds of symptoms as the result of their portrayal in the public eye.

So the question becomes, if Parker really is the next “female Jordan” who will transform athletics, will a “sex appeal” be necessary to get the attention of sports fans?

In my opinion, as a society, we should say no. Because we can do better than that. The athletes themselves should speak up and demand more than that, and Candace Parker is the first “big name” to do this.

Glock says:

“Team Parker has so far avoided the cheesecake route. They have higher aims. They want the all-American money, and the all-American money comes to the athletes people love, not the athletes people want to sleep with.”

What’s incredible about Parker is her story. How she got here. What she’s accomplished. Her personality (I’d love to follow her on Twitter). Her attitude. Her dedication. And most important, her talent.

Just the other day, social media guru Seth Godin (who I love to read) wrote about a difference between PR and publicity. He said the best way to get sustained attention is to communicate the stories of the clients, not simply generate publicity (which anyone can do). The stories, he said, are the ones that sell – they’re the ones that keep people coming back, because they’re real, meaningful and lasting.

And that’s the direction where women’s sports needs to head, and it looks like Parker is going to take them there.

It’s going to be great to hear stories about her baby traveling around with her to games, etc. Because that is new, different and real.

My absolute favorite quote by Parker is how she will deal with the new baby, which she is expecting in July.

“Basketball is calming to me. Whenever anything goes on in my life, I go shoot. As long as I can shoot, I’m okay.” And the baby? “The baby will be along for the ride, with me on trips, at the court.” She sighs. “You don’t hear about male players doing that, do you? Women, we just have to balance more things. It’s harder for us. That’s just the way it is.” She offers a weary smile before adding, “For now.”

Great attitude to take, Candace. I love it.

It’s very promising to hear that Parker’s sponsor (Adidas) seems to understand that Parker has a great story to tell:

Jim Gatto, head of global sports marketing for Adidas — which is releasing Parker’s player-edition shoe, the TS Ace Commander, in 2010 — sees her as an athlete who inspires women at all levels. “She was in our ‘Me, Myself’ campaign,” he says of the all-us-girls-are-in-this-together promotion. “We thought we could build stories around her. She has global reach.” Gatto says Adidas has been tracking Parker her whole career. “She always fit the brand values: authentic, inspirational. And not just from a basketball standpoint.”

With increased attention to her story (her inspiration), she’ll go far, and she just might take the rest of women’s professional sports along with her. In only one year, she has already done great things for women’s professional basketball.

“Candace is already delivering for the Sparks. LA’s season ticket sales were its highest since 2005; twice as many were sold after draft day as before. Home attendance was up 10% for the season, and road crowds were three times bigger for the Sparks than for other WNBA teams. The WNBA’s TV ratings finished up 19%, and Parker’s jersey is by far the league’s best seller.”

That’s awesome to hear.

Parker is the future of women’s basketball, and if she demands attention in the right ways, she just might transcend her sport, and set a precedence for women’s sports in general. Parker is incredibly marketable, she’s got a great story, and she’s not going to sell her body for money.

I wish the WNBA, Parker’s agent and Adidas the best of luck in generating some much-needed publicity to an awesome sport and its most promising chance at creating a new era of marketing for female athletes.

WNBA: Detroit Tops Liberty in the East, Sparks Eliminated by Stars in the West

Yesterday’s WNBA action was certainly exciting for both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. The Detroit Shock beat NY Liberty 64-55, and LA Sparks were eliminated by San Antonio Silver stars, 76-72.

The two heroes of the day were Deanna Nolan of the Detroit Shock (pictured on the right) and Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Stars.

Deanna Nolan scored 22 points to lead the Shock in their victory over the Liberty in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday. They play again tonight at 7pm EST on ESPN2.

In the West, Becky Hammon led the Silver Stars in their Western Conference Championship by scoring 35 points and making four free throws in the final 36 seconds.

It was definately an exciting day for the WNBA. Tonight’s matchup will be equally exciting; I just wish we wasn’t so overpowered by all of the football coverage going on right now.

Reminder: WNBA Playoff Games Today

Just a reminder to everyone: WNBA playoffs are today, taking place in Detroit. Tune in to ESPN2.

At 3pm EST, Detroit Shock plays NY Liberty for the East; right now, the Liberty are up 1-0.

At 5pm EST, the LA Sparks take on San Antonio Stars for the West; right now, the two teams are tied at 1-1.

These should be some pretty good games; I’ll be posting about them later. For more information, check out WNBA.com.

Have a great Sunday!

WNBA: Liberty offering cheap tickets Friday!

If you’re in the New York area on Friday night, you should consider getting tickets to the New York Liberty – they’re selling them, cheap!

In case you aren’t aware, WNBA is right in the height of their playoffs. Friday’s game will be a great preview and might be your last change to see a game.

Semifinals start Sunday:
Eastern Conference Finals: New York Liberty vs. Detroit Shock (Sunday, 3PM on ESPN)
Western Conference Finals: LA Sparks vs. San Antonio Stars (Sunday, 5PM on ESPN)

But if you’re in the NY area and want to catch a good game, click the picture below and enter the code STRETCH.

Fight Breaks Out in WBNA

In a game last night between Detroit and Los Angeles, a fight broke out. It seems like there was a long of pushing and shoving, but it boiled down to Candace Parker of the LA Sparks and Plenette Pierson of Detroit Shock. The benches cleared on this one.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE4s3C93Ex4]

Well, this is one way we can draw fans and attention. (Not so sure if it’s the type of attention we want, though)