Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Sports News

Report: Stern sees women in the NBA

|
|
 
  
NBA Commissioner David J. Stern gives an improptu press conference before the New Orleans Hornets and Denver Nuggets game one of their opening round series at the Pepsi Center in Denver on April 19, 2009. (UPI Photo/Gary C. Caskey) 
License photo
Published: Dec. 4, 2009 at 4:02 PM

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- NBA Commissioner David Stern tells Sports Illustrated that he sees women playing in the NBA within the next decade.

Stern told SI senior NBA writer Ian Thomsen in an exclusive interview this week that if a woman played in the NBA, she likely would have a combination of multiple skills and aggressiveness.

"It would be an athletic achievement without precedent," Stern said. "I think that's well within the range of probability … I'll leave it to the real experts to talk about the muscle factor."

The move was compared to the impact of Jackie Robinson breaking major league baseball's color barrier in 1947.

Stern has several supporters.

"The public would be excited about it," said New Jersey Nets General Manager and interim Coach Kiki Vandeweghe.

"It would be great for everyone ... if it can happen," said Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers. "(But) the key is whether the person is playing, or is she just on the team?"

Topics: David Stern
Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Linsanity The Daytona 500 Cheerleaders of 2012
Additional Sports News Stories
1 of 27
Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego wins Finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
View Caption
Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego, California watches confetti rain down as she wins the two-day Scripps National Spelling Bee championship, May 31, 2012, in National Harbor, Maryland. Nandipati successfully spelled the word .* guetapens *, meaning to lure or ambush. UPI/Mike Theiler
fark
Better luck next time, gravity
How do you deal with the possibility of a rise in sea level? a) Change building codes, b) build...
Woman faces life in prison for taking blame for a) murder, b) armed robbery, or c) husband's speeding...
Two ugly-ass endangered Amur leopards born at Minnesota Zoo, just in time for Caturday
Dick Beals, known as the voice of Gumby and many other animated characters dies at the age of 85,...
If you're upset about damage to your truck, don't arm yourself with a knife and chase a pair of...