WNBA Leads in Sports Diversity Study

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WNBA Leads in Sports Diversity Study

by DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer , July 24, 2009

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NEW YORK

The WNBA still leads the way in sports diversity, even after one of its marquee franchises folded.

The league received an A-plus Thursday for the second consecutive year in an annual diversity report card on race and gender. The WNBA is the only professional league to have received a perfect grade.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport study, run by Dr. Richard Lapchick of the University of Central Florida, rates leagues and college sports on the number of participating women and minorities.

The study reported a 10 percent increase in the number of Black general managers in the WNBA and a slight increase in Black head coaches. Women also gained ground, with 10 percent increases in the number of head coaches and team presidents, and a slight increase in the number of general managers.

Lapchick said the WNBA has long led the way in his diversity and gender studies. The league began play in 1997, about the same time the NBA began its diversity initiative.

“The WNBA remained as the best employer overall for women and people of color in sport,” Lapchick said. “They have set the standard for sport with their combined A-plus grade. Taken with the NBA's overall A grade, basketball has again swept the table for best practices for hiring from a diverse pool of candidates.”

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Comments posted here may be reprinted in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine, and may be edited for purposes of clarity and/or space.

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