The Locker Room (1)

The podcast "The Locker Room" discusses various topics related to women's sports, including team names, leadership, retirement, and diversity. The hosts share their thoughts on potential team names for the Professional Women's Hockey League, with mixed opinions on the choices. They also discuss Kim Ng's resignation as general manager of the Miami Marlins and the lack of diversity in Arsenal Women's FC. They highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in sports and call for meaningful changes to be made. Yeah, you can go. Welcome to The Locker Room, the podcast where we explore the world of women's sports, bringing you stories about teams, coaches, gender diverse athletes, advocates, giving you a unique perspective on their struggles, successes, and how they are blazing new trails for future generations. On today's episode, we will be covering some interesting stories from team names to leadership, retirement, and diversity. I'm Urvashi. Joining me are my incredible co-hosts. I'll let you guys introduce yourselves. Hi, I'm Emma. I'm Sarah. Yo, it's Paige. Come join us inside The Locker Room. Let's get started. We're going to start off today with a little rapid-fire discussion before we really get into things. The Professional Women's Hockey League, also known as the PWHL, filed trademarks for potential team names last week. The PWHL was announced at the end of August of this year, and the first regular season games will commence in January. Six initial teams were announced as Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, New York, and Boston. People online had a lot of thoughts about the names. I do too, and I would love to hear yours. So, the potential team names are the Toronto Torch, the Montreal Echo, Ottawa Alert, Minnesota Superior, Boston Wicked, and the New York Sound. Okay, guys, what are your thoughts? Emma, do you want to go first? I kind of like the Ottawa Alert. That's about the only one that I really like. I think they're all kind of, they just don't really make sense. Like, I don't associate the word with the city. Minnesota is the only one that I would say does make sense in that way, just because of Lake Superior. But the league hasn't even started yet, and they're already trying to establish themselves as the top team with that name. I personally don't like any of them, really. You got some strong opinions there. Paige, what are your thoughts? Yeah, I initially, I hated all of these names. They just sound pretty goofy. But after learning the history and reasoning behind the Ottawa Alert, I don't really hate that one too much anymore. Same as Emma, like the Minnesota Superior. I mean, that one's actually, it has grown on me a bit because of the reference to Lake Superior, so it makes sense. But definitely, like, reading all of the names in a list together, they just, like, it threw me off. Super weird. And like, also in North America, we're very used to team names being plural. None of these names are plural, which is pretty interesting. But if you look at, like, soccer or football, those clubs always, like, reference the city or the area they play, and they use that more than their nickname. So maybe it'll take some time to get used to, but it's not the worst thing in the world. Other than, of course, Toronto Torch, which apparently Torch is like a sexist insult in French. So we'll see what goes on with that, because I saw that some news anchors aren't even, like, saying the name in Quebec, because it's offensive. That's maybe not a great start. You referenced the history behind the Ottawa Alert. There was actually a women's hockey team in Ottawa called the Alert in 1915. They were super dominant in women's hockey, and they were immediate champions. Nirvashi, do you have any thoughts on the names? All right. I can imagine a mascot for Ottawa Alerts that's running around the arena with a big siren on their head, because it's like the warning system. Yeah, that's good. Oh, I forgot to say also, I absolutely hate Boston Wicked. Like, that's by far the worst one. It's like, where did that come from? I agree. Boston's really weird. It's giving me the feeling of the orchestra. I like the New York sound. Like, I feel like it sounds good hearing it. That's the only one I really actually love. Yes, I understand the pun. Yeah, I actually did see that someone said it could be a reference to, oh my goodness, what is it? Long Island? Long Island Sound? So again, kind of makes sense. But you're just, you have to think too much about the names. So I don't really like that too much. Yeah, all super valid points. Just because we filed these trademark applications for these names, it doesn't actually mean these are going to be the final names the league chooses. As reported by Ian Kennedy of the Hockey News, the league also trademarked PWHL Minnesota, PWHL Montreal, Boston, Ottawa, Toronto, and New York. So they might just go with those basic names for the first season. So they can get like actual good names to start off. But I think it would be good to have real names, mascots, jerseys all ready for January. But it just seems like a tight timeline to get everything ready for that. Now we're going to take a short break before getting into current events. All right, so that brings us to our current event segment. We'll be doing a current event segment every episode where each of us brings up a topic that has us burning to talk about. I'm going to kick us off with some news that came out in October. Last month Kim Ng stepped down from her role as general manager of the Miami Marlins. This came as a large shock in the baseball world as Kim had just successfully put pieces together during the 2023 MLB season to make the postseason. In November of 2020, Kim made history when she became the first woman and first Asian American to be appointed GM of an MLB team. Kim joined the Marlins at a time when the franchise was struggling to find its identity. Her contract included a mutual option for 2024, which the club offered, but Kim declined. So what went wrong? Kim hasn't said much on the matter, but she did provide a statement to ESPN saying, last week Bruce, Bruce, owner of the Miami Marlins, last week Bruce and I discussed his plan to reshape the baseball operations department. In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned on what we should look like and I felt best to step away. So what was one of Bruce's ideas? Hiring a president of baseball operations, which would make him the second person in charge. So after putting together a couple of successful seasons, Kim would basically be demoted and I have two thoughts on this. The first is good for Kim for knowing her worth. She worked hard to put a successful team together with a lot of head office turnover in the last couple of years. Bruce's just strange division or vision for the organization was the reason that CEO Derek Jeter resigned from his role last November. And she really just deserves an organization that sees her value and I don't think she should have a tough time finding a new role in the league. And my other thought is that it's just another case of women having to work 100 times harder than their male counterparts to get a job in sports. We saw it when Becky Hammond was passed over for head coaching positions in the NBA. People said she just didn't have enough experience. How is 16 years of playing professionally and eight years of coaching and learning under San Antonio Spurs Greg Popovich not enough experience? There have been a number of guys who have landed head coaching gigs in the NBA with little to no coaching experience. Since then, Becky has been the head coach of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces the last two seasons and she's already won back-to-back championships. So the proof is in the pudding, shall we say. But back to Kim. If owner Bruce Sherman wants to add a president of baseball operations, why not offer the job to Kim? She's obviously proven her value to the Marlins. It makes no sense to limit her decision-making power after all that she's accomplished. Now that the MLB offseason has just begun, I hope that the organizations are fighting over who gets to add Kim to their payroll next season. All right, Ravashi, what do you have for us? So, Arsenal recently came out with a statement on diversity. For those who may not be aware, Arsenal Women's FC is one of the most successful and storied women's football clubs in the world. Arsenal have previously had several prominent black female players, including Rachel Yankee, Alex Scott, Danielle Carter, and Leigh-Anne Sanderson. Despite their success, they recently released a statement acknowledging a lack of diversity within their team, especially regarding racial representation. That statement came out of the criticism of an all-white women's squad photo and for having no black or ethnic minority players. Arsenal did say that it was a key priority to increase diversity. This has sparked conversations around the lack of diversity and inclusion in women's football. Historically, women's football has faced challenges in terms of visibility and support. So, with limited resources and lack of pathway, it's harder for players from underrepresented groups to break through. To change that, the FA outlined proposals to ensure that 95% of players can access an emerging talent center within one hour from where they live by 2024, which is quite impressive because diversity is not a buzzword. It should be the core value upheld by sports organizations. This also goes for leadership role within sport. With how much the game has grown, I don't think it should be that difficult. I think it's commendable that Arsenal has taken the initiative to openly acknowledge and address this issue within their team, but it was addressed after the criticism. So, will that statement put out where we are or do they actually want to make those changes? Maybe next season? Do you guys have any opinions about that? Yeah, I think it's definitely interesting. When I saw the photo as well, it's laughable in a terrible way. Just an all-white squad. They had one youth player that I would have liked to see with the team this year. Just like a black youth player that I would like to see with the team. She's dominant. I have other teams in the league that are quite diverse. So, Arsenal saying that the fact that they don't have anyone on their team, a person of color, just really is not a good look at all. No, I was just really disappointed when I saw that picture as well. I think it's just kind of sad that this is still an issue that we're having. This is still a conversation that we're having to have time and time again, it feels like. It shouldn't take that photo being released and people online seeing it and talking about it for them to take notice and say they're going to do something about it. Will there actually be any follow-through? I don't know. I'm skeptical. Yeah, because at the end of the day, you don't want to include good visible minorities just for the sake of including them, right? Yeah, that's my thoughts exactly. I think part of it is a PR move. Maybe a little piece of them does want to make the changes, but I think majority of it is just for them to save face at this point. All right, all good points. Emma, what do you have for a current event? Recently, three female Canadian sports stars announced their retirement from their respective sports. Geneviève Lacasse and Megan Mickelson from ice hockey, and Christine Sinclair from soccer. Geneviève Lacasse is a goalie. She played for Hockey Canada on and off from 2009 until 2022. She was on the senior team for about seven years from 2012 until 2019. With the senior team, she won an Olympic gold medal in 2014 and an Olympic silver medal in 2018, as well as one gold, three silver, and one bronze at the World Championships. She announced her retirement after battling multiple injuries for the past few years. She's 34 years old, so she's had a pretty lengthy career, especially for a goalie. It's really hard on their knees and hips and stuff, which is a lot of the injuries that she's been dealing with. She's instead going to focus on a front office role with the Ottawa team in the new PWHL, or the Ottawa Alert, as we had many thoughts on. So her wife, actually, Emerance Mashmire, who's also a goalie with Team Canada, recently signed a three-year deal there, so they should be sticking around there for quite some time. Her longtime teammate, Megan Mickelson, spent nearly 20 years with Hockey Canada, which is extremely impressive. That's the same sort of career as Kayla Wickenheiser or Jaina Hefford had. She was first with the under-22 team for three years, and then spent 16 years with the senior team. In that time, she won two Olympic gold medals, one in 2010 and one in 2014, as well as a silver medal in 2018. In addition to that, she won two gold and six silver at World Championships. I think Mickelson has to be one of the toughest and most hard-working players to ever play the game. Man or woman, the amount of adversity that she's overcome in her career is just amazing. In 2014, she played the gold medal game with a broken hand. The trainers had to inject a freezing, I guess, liquid into her hand just so she could play the game. And not only did she play the game, she also assisted on Canada's first goal. Then in 2015, she gave birth to her first child and returned to the game the next year. In 2019, she had another child and once again returned to the national team. And finally in 2021, she suffered a massive knee injury, had to have reconstructive surgery, and returned to play just six months later. She leaves the team at 38 years old and is now going to focus on a career in broadcasting for the Calgary Flames and the NHL. And last but certainly not least, Christine Sinclair is a name synonymous with soccer in Canada and around the world. She's the global all-time leading scorer, man or woman, with 190 goals in 327 games and counting. She started her career with the Canadian women's soccer team at age 16 and just never looked back. She's been on an upward trajectory ever since. She won an Olympic gold medal in 2021 as well as two bronze in 2012 and 2016. When asked why she's choosing to retire from international play now despite her team qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics, she said that the way the Tokyo Olympics ended with that gold medal, like nothing could beat it, so she'd rather retire on a high note. She's retiring at age 40 and is considering going into coaching, but she did say that she wants to play one more season with her club team, the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League. These three are all amazing athletes and I'm sure even better people. They've helped pave the way for women's sports in Canada and they will surely be missed by fans and teammates alike. What do you have for us, Sarah? So just recently, the Las Vegas Aces won the 2023 WNBA Championship on October 18th. They became the first team to win in back-to-back years since the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2001 and 2002. During media availability on the day prior to game four of the finals, Aces guard Kelsey Plum made some comments that have since been deemed kind of controversial. When speaking to Black Rosie media, Kelsey said, we've been hurt, sued, arrested. You name it, we've done it. I'm confident in our group and we've gone through a lot of adversity. We'll be ready. These comments were deemed controversial because it almost seemed like she was proud of these things when talking about them as adversities the team had overcome. To provide some context, two-time WNBA MVP Candice Parker signed with Vegas as a free agent in the off-season but has been injured the vast majority of the season. She underwent surgery in July and has been out since. That's not really the controversial part of her statement though. That's where we get into where she said arrested and sued. In July, Las Vegas Aces guard Raquanna Williams was arrested on domestic violence charges. Williams was facing five felony charges including domestic battery by strangulation, coercion by force, and assault with a weapon, as well as four misdemeanor domestic battery charges. This is not the first time Williams has been arrested on domestic violence charges. She served a 10-game suspension from the WNBA in 2019 after that arrest. These charges were dropped against Williams because her wife, who the authorities said was the victim in this case, stopped cooperating with prosecutors ahead of the hearing before they would go to trial. Despite the charges being dropped, Williams was not welcome back to join the Aces. Additionally, former Las Vegas Aces forward now with the Los Angeles Sparks, Fierke Hamby, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission. Hamby alleges that Aces head coach Becky Hammond accused her of signing a two-year extension with the team last year despite knowing she was pregnant. She also alleges that the team began to retaliate against her and caused the work environment to become abusive and hostile. She says they encouraged her to avoid getting pregnant in the next two years. After disclosing her pregnancy, the Aces then traded Hamby to the Los Angeles Sparks despite Hamby having just signed this contract extension. In May, Becky Hammond stated that the trade was just business and she was just doing what was best for the team to have enough active players to fill the roster. But Hamby ended up playing all 40 games this WNBA season despite having had her son Legend just two months before the season started. The WNBA did investigate the allegations and suspended Hammond but only for two games for violating the league and team's respect the workplace policies. Hamby alleges that the WNBA failed to properly investigate her allegations. However, a league spokesperson said the league conducted a thorough investigation and the allegations levied appropriate discipline based on its findings. Many, including myself, found Kelsey's comments insensitive because she was just so flippantly referring to her coach and team being sued for violating employment and equal rights laws and her teammate being accused of domestic violence. She's saying all these things as if it's adversity that the team has gone through instead of consequences for the actions of which they've done. So it just makes me uneasy. I understand the point that she was trying to make but I really think that she just missed the mark on this one. And that concludes our first episode of The Locker Room. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll be putting our socials in the show notes so make sure to connect with us and share the podcast. Episode two will be coming out the first week of November. Until next time!