To the editor: I've never been a sports fan. I have never been interested in team sports. I never “got it.” I know almost nothing about basketball. (“Caitlin Clark can handle the bruises that come with being a WNBA rookie,” Opinion, June 4)
I'm only here because I'm in love with the “Caitlin Clark effect” in basketball. I naively thought that women's basketball could be something more than men's basketball.
Why should Clark, the all-time leading basketball scorer among NCAA Division I schools, have to “handle” rough play and intentional fouls now that she plays professionally? Why do the WNBA and its referees (and LA Times reporters) excuse, condone, or even encourage hazing of rookies?
The WNBA had me for a moment, but now I'm done. Intentional rough play and flagrant fouls distract me from the game and make me feel angry, not encouraged. I can watch the news for that.
Pat Veesart, St. Margaret
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To the editor: Why should we beat new players? It seems like every sports league, both men's and women's, must “jump” new members. Why is this necessary?
Toughness can be demonstrated by playing well. Unnecessary harshness isn't necessary, but evidently the rookies' new teammates believe they need to “suck it up” to prove themselves.
Suzanne Brugman, La Habra Heights
