Colonel_Reb said:
WNBA was 16% White (U.S.) and 69% black (U.S.) in 2010-international player numbers (14%) aren't broken down by race but are mostly black
Reb, this league has gotten quite dark over the years. In 2001, for example, of the top 14 picks, 10 where white**, which is nothing short of unbelievable to me
Also, just like the NBA, this league has progressively gotten blacker as time has gone forward.
At the same time, as one would expect, the league has gone from having a 'very promising' future-- with 3 networks televising their games (Lifetime, NBC & ESPN), owners & cities clamouring for expansion teams and crowds in excess over 10,000 per --
to a league that is fighting hard just to stay in business. In recent years, several original'anchor franchises' have folded and no one even wants a expansion team, despite the fact that the expansion fees are minimal, compared to other sports (1 mill deposit, only).
I think the ESPN contract is the only reason this league is still afloat.....that and the reallow salaries -- even the superstars only make about 100K per season; rookies only make 35k.
As far as the international players, most seem to be Aussie woman, with some Eastern Euro's sprinkled in....Up until a freaky 6' 8" mulatto was drafted #2 overall a few weeks ago, all the Aussie woman where white, I think?...In the lasttwo years, Seattle and Phoenix won titles with several white superstars and 5 or 6 white woman on their rosters (of 11), but 'Urban' teams like NY, LA, Wash & Chicago have been almost all black for a while.
My guess is the WNBA is about 27 to 30% white....Not real good, but better than the NBA
P.S: Another issue this league has, in terms of marketing and selling tickets, is the perception that the league is full of lesbians, which has made it real hard to get families to buy tickets.
**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_WNBA_Draft