Jezebel: Basketball

Don't You Wish Obama Was Your Basketball Coach, Too?

Katie J.M. Baker — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST

Get ready to aww: President Obama is coaching his daughter Sasha's basketball team, and he's not taking his duties lightly. "He hasn't missed a game," the First Lady said of his devotion. "I think he was hoping to get this weekend off, but I'm gone." Apparently, if there's no game scheduled, he'll take his kids and their friends to shoot hoops on their own. No word on whether he ever yells mean things at the opposing team during particularly stressful moments. More »

NBA Official Says He Was Fired For Reporting Women's Harassment

Anna North — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:40:00 EST

A former security director for the NBA alleges that when he spoke up about sexual harassment of female employees, he was given bad evaluations and fired. Now he's suing. More »

Racist Girls Basketball Team Explains They're Totally Not Racist

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:30:00 EST

This week every player on Kenmore East High School's girls basketball team is serving a two day suspension for performing a pre-game chant that included the N-word. The team's only black player says she asked her teammates to stop doing the cheer, but they explained it was just a joke and they aren't racist. Considering that members of the Kentucky church that banned interracial couples also insisted they weren't biased, it seems this needs to be said: If you do things that demean people due to their ethnicity, you are a racist. More »

Syracuse Head Coach Should Probably Stop Talking Now

Anna North — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:50:00 EST

When two men came forward to accuse Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting them as children, head coach Jim Boeheim called them money-grubbing liars. Then he apologized. He should have stopped there, but now he's saying he doesn't regret defending his friend. More »

Bill Murray Casually Chats Up The Obamas

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:35:00 EST

Actor Bill Murray, center, chats with President Barack Obama, left, and first lady Michelle Obama before an NCAA basketball game between Oregon State and Towson in Towson, Md., Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) More »

Syracuse Coach Accused Of Molestation; Chancellor Promises Investigation

Anna North — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:30:00 EST

In a scandal reminiscent of Penn State, two men have come forward to accuse Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting them when they were children. The university has responded swiftly, putting Fine on leave and sending an email to all students. But head coach Jim Boeheim says the accusers are lying. More »

Pat Summitt Diagnosed With Early-Onset Dementia

Whitney Jefferson — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:05:00 EDT

In a video announcement, Pat Summitt made the shocking disclosure that she's been diagnosed with dementia at a mere 59 years old. The Hall of Fame Coach said she started to notice strange behaviors last season like behaving "erratically" and second-guessing her decisions on the basketball court. It is rare that someone under 60 be diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and even rarer that people of that age display symptoms. Currently, Summitt is taking medications and working on puzzles to keep her brain sharp, and the basketball legend will return and coach another season for the Lady Vols with the help of her assistants. More »

The Female Athletes Who Are Damned If They Do, Damned If They Don't

Ramona Emerson — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:05:00 EDT

In the past month, religious women have been prevented from participating in soccer, basketball, and weightlifting — all because their faith dictates they cover their heads, necks, arms, legs, or some combination thereof. If three makes a trend, then it looks like we're on the way to seeing an unofficial consensus from athletics organizations about whether devoutly religious women can play sports at all. More »

The Revolutionary Idea Of Women Coaching Men's Teams

Ramona Emerson — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EDT

Apparently, just because you can do, it doesn't mean you can teach. Even in sports like hockey, where women have played with men at the professional level, female coaches are as rare as Kardashians who don't make millions marrying basketball players on television. In fact, it wasn't until 2009 that Nancy Lieberman, a former professional player herself, became the first woman to coach an NBA team (the Texas Legends, part of the NBA development league). According to Sonya Cuthbert, a reporter for the Calgary Herald, utilizing female coaches is just good business, seeing as women actually make pretty good coaches. Who knew! She says, "The most glorified coaches in college and high school basketball are women. They have more wins than any male coach of either men's or women's teams." So why aren't more of these winning coaches doing their thing at the professional level? More »

Female Basketball Coach Says Women In Sports Can Be "Petty"

Anna North — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:25:00 EDT

What's it like to play on an all-male basketball team with a female coach? Says Texas Legends captain Antonio Daniels, "Same thing as if a guy was a coach, you know what I mean? Except you just don't undress in the locker room at the same time. And she's big on love, and she's big on hugs, and all that kind of stuff." More »

Texas A&M Beats Notre Dame For First-Ever Women's NCAA Championship

Anna North — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:27:00 EDT

Notre Dame's upset over UConn made headlines Monday, but they only had a little while to enjoy it — Texas A&M beat them 76-70 yesterday to win its first-ever NCAA championship in women's basketball. More »

In Upset, Notre Dame Women Beat UConn

Anna North — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:50:00 EDT

Notre Dame's women's basketball team had lost 12 straight games to UConn, but they rallied yesterday to beat the Huskies 72-63 in the national semifinals. They'll go on to play Texas A&M in the championship game tomorrow. More »

Woman Makes NCAA History By Scoring 2,000th Point

Anna North — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EDT

Courtney Vandersloot of Gonzaga University has become the first NCAA Division 1 basketball player, male or female, to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 assists. Suzie McConnell held the previous record for points by a player with 1,000 assists — she scored 1,897. The closest man is Bobby Hurley, with 1,076 assists and 1,731 points. More »

Basketball Star Kicked Off BYU Team For Premarital Sex

Irin Carmon — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:15:00 EST

When BYU basketball star Brandon Davies was suspended early this week for honor code violations, it wasn't immediately clear what the transgression was. After all, the Mormon university's honor code also includes regulating dress and grooming and abstaining from alcohol — was that enough? More »

President Obama Moonlights As Coach For Daughter's Team

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST

The President regularly attends his daughter's Saturday morning basketball games in a suburban Maryland gym, and this week he stepped in and tried his hand at some coaching when the regular parent volunteer wasn't able to. Sasha, however, wasn't there; she's skiing in Colorado with her mother, sister, and some friends. Cameras aren't allowed inside the gym, and thus no pictures of our Girls' Basketball Coach-In-Chief exist, nor do we know whether Obama had them run a triangle two defense against the other team's guard-reliant offense. We also don't know about his coaching style, whether he was more of a simmering, angry Satan like Mike Krzyzewski or a chair throwing Bobby Knight-esque madman or a calm Colonel Sanders Phil Jackson type. What kind of a coach do you think Obama would be? More »

Could Diana Taurasi Be Exonerated For Doping?

Anna North — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:21:00 EST

Basketball star Diana Taurasi tested positive for a banned drug, and her shot at the 2012 Olympics could be in jeopardy. But she swears she didn't take anything — we asked an expert if she could be telling the truth. More »

What In God's Name Did They Talk About?

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:50:00 EST

Snooki and Kim Kardashian have apparently met and conversed. Are they filming the pilot episode for the world's most inane reality show? Or discussing the nuances of string theory? I'm mesmerized. More »

At the Intersection of the Huskies' Loss and This ESPN Column Is a Box of Tissues

Lauri Apple — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:25:52 EST

The amazing 90-game winning streak enjoyed by the Connecticut Huskies came to an end with their 71-59 loss to Stanford. Sad? This ESPN column in which sportsdudes make dumb sexist comments about them might make you cry even harder. More »

Penelope's All, "Javier, Please."

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:05:00 EST

Los Angeles, December 25: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem watch the Lakers lose to the Miami Heat. Perhaps the two would have been better off taking their talents to South Beach. (Image via AP)

UConn Reignites Timeworn Basketball Battle Of The Sexes

Erin Gloria Ryan — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:05:00 EST

Last night, the University of Connecticut Women's basketball team won its 89th game in a row, breaking a record set by a men's team. This obviously means that now the Battle of the Sexes Just Got Serious. More »

UConn Women's Basketball Coach On The Sports Double Standard

Irin Carmon — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:11:07 EST

Says UConn's coach: "Because we're breaking a men's record, we've got a lot of people paying attention. If we were breaking a women's record, everybody would go, 'Aren't those girls nice'....let's send them back where they belong, in the kitchen." More »

UConn Women's Basketball Team Has Forgotten How To Lose

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 17:45:00 EST

Congratulations are in order for the University of Connecticut women's basketball team, who just minutes ago won their 88th straight game, tying the NCAA record for consecutive wins. Does the game of being awesome have a mercy rule? More »

Sasha Obama Is Distracted By ________

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 27: Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha stand for the National Anthem during a college basketball game between Howard University and Oregon State, which is coached by his Michelle's brother Craig Robinson. (Photo by Getty )

Transgender Women's Basketball Player Makes His NCAA Debut

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:20:00 EST

Kye Allums, the NCAA basketball player who made headlines by announcing he was transgender, played his first game as a man on Saturday. Congratulations to Kye, and best of luck to his team. More »

Thursday Afternoon Thighlights: The Next Point Is Within Reach

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:58:00 EST

[Hartford, November 10: Connecticut's Samarie Walker blocks a shot by Indiana of Pennsylvania's Brianna Johnson during the second half of an NCAA college exhibition basketball game. Image via AP.]

Johnson Eyes Her Next Move

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EDT

[Connecticut, November 4: Connecticut's Michala Johnson, right, grabs a rebound from Franklin Pierce's Brittany Martelle during the second half of their exhibition NCAA women's college basketball game. Connecticut won the game 112-41. Image via AP.]

The NCAA's First Openly Trans Basketball Player

Anna North — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:12:00 EDT

Kye Allums is about to become the first openly trans person to play NCAA Division 1 basketball. And while his life hasn't always been easy, a lot of people could learn from his story. More »

College Basketball Player Bounces Back From Hodgkin's

Katie Luscombe — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:57:00 EDT

[Chapel Hill, October 19: A year-and-a-half after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, UNC player Jessica Breland, shown at a press conference, is healthy and eager to get back to normal. Naturally, she's all smiles. Image via AP.]

Female Athletes Get Naked For ESPN Magazine's Body Issue

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:55:00 EDT

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ESPN The Magazine has revealed three of the six cover athletes planned for its second annual "Body Issue." And just like last year, the sports stars don't have any clothes on. More »

Championship Game Has Everyone On Edge

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:22:00 EDT

[Czech Republic, September 29: Teresa Gabriele of Canada, left, is guarded by Elodie Godin, Anael Lardy and Marielle Amant of France, from left to right, during the FIBA World Basketball Championship for Women. Image via AP.]

WNBA Thighlight: Little On Lyttle

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:49:00 EDT

[Atlanta, September 16: Seattle Storm forward Camille Little (20) and Atlanta Dream forward Sancho Lyttle vie for a loose ball in the first quarter of Game 3 of the WNBA basketball finals. Image via AP.]

U.S. Women's Basketball Beats Spain, Tseng Scores LPGA Victory

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:22:00 EDT

Tina Charles led the U.S. women's national basketball team with 17 points to beat Spain 85-69 at an exhibition game in Hartford. In golf, Yani Tseng won her third LPGA Tour victory of the year at Sunday's Northwest Arkansas Championship. More »

Pondexter Scores One For Liberty

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:37:00 EDT

[New York, September 1: New York Liberty's Cappie Pondexter (23) goes to the basket against Indiana Fever's Jessica Moore during the first half of a WNBA Eastern Conference semifinal basketball game. Image via AP.]

The Pom Pom Club

Anna Holmes — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:10:00 EDT

[Boston, June 10. Image via Getty]

Thumb & Thumber

Anna Holmes — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:10:00 EDT

[Boston, June 8. Image via Getty]

If It's Magic

Anna Holmes — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:10:00 EDT

[Orlando, May 4. Image via Getty]

Bull Market

Anna Holmes — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:10:00 EDT

[Chicago, April 22. Image via Getty]

Howard The Duck Dunk

Anna Holmes — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:10:00 EDT

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[Orlando, April 21. Image via Getty]

Having A Ball

Anna Holmes — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:10:00 EDT

[Seattle, April 21. Image via Getty]

Nothing But Net

Anna Holmes — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:10:00 EDT

[San Antonio, April 6. Image via Getty]