The Milk Carton Women: Diana, Nicole, Martina, and Jenny

By: dwil

Former U.S. champion and Olympic ice skater Nicole Bobek, was recently busted for distribution of methamphetamine. But at 17 and near the height of her skating career, Bobek was also arrested for first degree home invasion, for which she received probation.

Diana Taurasi, of the Phoenix Mercury and Olympic gold medalist, was cited and charged with DUI just hours after her WNBA team defeated the Seattle Storm team with Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, 93-81. Taurasi, the leading vote-getter for this season’s WNBA All-Star game, is 27. Taurasi, though, is known to be a partier, from her days at the University of Connecticut through to now.

Multiple grand slam tennis champion Martina Hingis was forced to retire form the game in 2007 when she tested positive for cocaine, apparently ingested after suffering a third round loss at Wimbledon.

In 1993 tennis star, Jennifer Capriati, unexpectedly lost a first round match at the U.S. Open. Three months later she was arrested for attempting to shoplift a cheap  ring. In May of the following year she was busted in a seedy Coral Gables, Florida hotel room for marijuana. During the police’s search of the room a 17-year old runaway and her 19-year old friend pulled up in Capriati’s car. They had with them two bags of heroin. The male who was arrested later said, through his lawyer, that Capriati used her money to support her own and her two acquaintances’ heroin and general drug use. Capriati was all of 18 at the time. 

On the surface it can be said that only four female athletes - all White - have run afoul of the law in some form or fashion.

 But take a peek beneath the surface and there are distinct reasons for the seeming paucity of women in sports - outside of the Black Olympian sprinters who tested positive or a variety of performance-enhancing drugs - who fall prey to the privileges that go hand-in-hand with being an elite athlete. 

The primary reason is that women’s sports are not as popular as men’s sports and do not receive the same blanket coverage as the NBA, NFL, or MLB. Only women’s professional tennis has rivaled its male counterpart for press coverage. Perhaps this is why two of the above four examples of wayward behavior come from the WTA Tour, in Hingis and Capriati.

These women were and are stars in their respective fields. It is not at all a stretch to consider that, if these four women used illicit drugs and drank to excess, this type of behavior might just be endemic in the world of women’s sports. Where then, are the polls outlining drug and alcohol abuse for women in both the college and professional ranks? Where are the comprehensive university studies detailing drug and alcohol abuse by women in sports? 

 

And. Where is the uproar by the leagues in which these women participate and in the press over this behavior?

When viewed by mainstream sports news outlets, women’s sports are seen as a lesser entity than are men’s sports. In-depth articles delving into a variety of personal abuses in women’s sports do not “move the readership meter” say sports news outlet editors and sports news television producers. League management is complicit in keeping these transgressions away from the spotlight. As part of their marketing strategies they subtly stress that part of what separates them from their male counterparts are their allegedly  spotless records. Unless an incident has no choice but to hit the sports pages or webpages or Sportscenter, the powers that be in the women’s leagues are just as efficient as are their male league office peers in squelching media reports of negative behavior by the athletes.

And the press? Well, they are pliant, compliant and, in the end, accessories to the cover up of women who have run-ins with police. And, of course, there is the tawdry fact of sexism existing in everything that is sports and sports-related. Sexism is so deep in the sports news game that even the women who write or report the games and cover the athletes and leagues largely turn their backs on dealing with female athletes - unless the woman or women have been deemed by men as coverage worthy. 

What all this amounts to is a “pass” on nearly every level for the likes of Bobek, Taurasi, Capriati, and Hingis. How else can you explain being Grand Slam tournament champions, former number one players in the world, and media darlings, and have your drug use and the life you’d led to that point basically swept under the rug by the press? 

It was whispered that the reason Hingis retired the first time was due to cocaine abuse and not injuries, that she cracked under the psychological pressure applied to her by her domineering mother, Melanie Molitor. Capriati was a train wreck waiting to happen. Her infamous father, Stefano, was all but banned from WTA Tour events and her mother was a classic abuse victim. Little Jenny was the cautionary tennis girl tale of all cautionary tales. Every time another coach or parent is caught abusing a young, female tennis player the Capriati story should be trotted out. you see, Capriati chose to turn to drugs. One-time Frnech Open champion, Mary Pierce was subjected to similar abuse as was Capriati by her father, Jim Pierce. But Mary didn’t turn to heroin. And neither did Jelena Dokic, the whiz girl junior player who at 16 smacked her way to the Wimbledon semifinals in her first real sniff at the hallowed grounds. Dokic was physically and psychologically abused by her father, Damir. But Jelena didn’t find her way to a seedy htel room with some scum bag and an underage runaway, pot and bags of heroin.

That special place of dope and darkness was reserved for “Our Jenny” as famed tennis historian and television color commentator Bud Collins often called Capriati. 

But being White darlings, Hingis and Capriati received and continue to receive kid glove treatment when compared with Marion Jones and every other Black female sprinter whose reputations were ruined by the press - and especially by Sports Illustrated and ESPN. And what of female columnists? Did they rush to their male compatriots’ sides and condemn Jones? Of course they felt obliged to chime in.

Nothing like showing your true colors, eh?

More than a week has passed since Bobek’s arrest and no mainstream female sports columnists have felt compelled to dedicate one word to this once great hope of American ice skating and once potential iconic female figure of Western pop culture.

As for Taurasi, her partying has always been glossed over. We know Lady T as a vivacious, hyper-competitive woman whose flair for the game of basketball is unmatched. She is quite literally the best female basketball player on the planet and one of the most charismatic figures in all of sports. Yet no writer of note, male or female other than the Seattle Times’ Jayda Evans - and that was in her “blog” - has thought enough of Taurasi’s DUI charge to place it context with her past behavior. Evans, in the 250 words she dedicated to Taurasi, found the time to also take the WNBA to task for what is an apparent double-standard in its player treatment:

Taurasi, 27, was cited for drunken driving. Phoenix GM Ann Meyers-Drysdale wouldn’t comment to local reporters until more information was made available, yet expects her leading scorer (21.2) to play on Sunday in Los Angeles.

How is this right? Detroit C Kara Braxton was suspended six games this season for her second DUI offense and two for her first. Given that Taurasi (pictured right) is an important face of the league with milk commercials and leading the All-Star game vote, shouldn’t she be punished to show this type of behavior is unacceptable? At the very least, Taurasi should be held out of the game until all information is revealed concerning her DUI citation to show the organization is taking this seriously.

Writing about Taurasi’s DUI is important on many levels. She is the star of stars in her sport. If Kobe Bryant or LeBron James was in this position during the NBA season you can bet some columnist somewhere in America would find the time to discuss Bryant or James in context with the incident at hand.  The stunning non-reaction, so far, of the WNBA president Donna Orender is worth comparing to other leagues. Surely some light would be shined on Roger Goodell if an NFL player committed an offense worthy of a suspension yet Goodell said and did nothing.

More revealing is the fact that Orender is but the league president. The commissioner of the WNBA is ——- David Stern, the NBA commissioner. Since the infamous brawl at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Stern cracked down on what he has termed as behavior that shows the league in a bad light. with this seeming leagues-wide mandate, there is the question of how race is playing out with Taurasi. Since Kara Braxton, a Black WNBA player, was suspended for two games after her initial DUI, where is Taurasi’s suspension? 

It is worth noting that Taurasi is a least receiving star treatment, if not White star treatment. With the WNBA All-Star game looming - July 25 - it is apparent that Orender and Stern are hoping that the Taurasi incident remains off the press’ radar. 

And the press, so far, has acted in concert with the WNBA-NBA league offices who want the Taurasi DUI shoved to the back burner. All of this is happening despite the fact that Taurasi is facing serious charges:

Mercury star Diana Taurasi faces three drunk-driving-related charges, including extreme DUI, for a July 2 incident in which she was pulled over on Camelback Road.

Results of a blood draw showed Taurasi was driving her 2006 Land Rover with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 percent, or more than twice the Arizona legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to a Phoenix police report released Tuesday.

According to the police report, Taurasi told her arresting officer she had “a few” drinks at an unnamed club and was on her way to the Phoenician hotel. She was trailed by friends in other vehicles.

A Phoenix officer stopped Taurasi around 2:30 a.m. near Camelback Road and Seventh Street after the officer observed the Land Rover drift outside a traffic lane. The officer claimed Taurasi was speeding nearly 20 mph over the 35 mph limit as she drove eastbound on Camelback.

In addition to the DUI charges, Taurasi also was cited for speeding, which she pleaded not responsible to, according to court records.

Taurasi’s DUI occurred on July 2, long enough ago to safely assume that, barring a media-manufactured miracle, Taurasi’s DUI court case will remain within the confines of the local Phoenix sports pages and will not leak out and be reported or commented on by national news sources. This despite Taurasi’s acknowledging the seriousness of the incident:

“As part of the Phoenix community and the Mercury, it’s just something that’s embarrassing and unfortunate for my family and the organization. We’ll have some more stuff to say later. But personally I’m going to have to do some things to make it straight.” 

Capriati and Hingis are viewed as tragic figures. Words dedicated to them have been tinged with a wistful sadness instead of the self-righteous anger displayed by columnists who acted betrayed by Jones and the other female Olympic track stars. 

What negative act must a White, female athlete commit in order to get her mug, or mug shot, plastered across the front of sports pages or Internet home pages? Vehicular manslaughter? No, that won’t do it, unless she’s accompanied by her male head coach or a well-known male athlete. Armed Robbery? Hmmm, the mainstream would probably turn their eye toward the discrepancy in salaries or prize money in the case of tennis, and blame that for what they would term a woman’s final desperate, albeit misguided, act to fight for the money she felt was hers all along. Murder? Depends on the victim. Hell, the press would set it up so that by the time the case got to trial a temporary insanity plea would be viable.

There isn’t much a White female athlete can do to receive the Marion Jones treatment. Nobody uttered a negative peep when tennis great Chris Evert admitted she went through an adult phase where she smoked pot and snorted cocaine. No one screamed out, ‘what about the kiiiiids!’ No one questioned Evert’s ability to be a role model to young girls. And no one ever will.

So the next time you look at your milk carton and see Diana Taurasi, Nicole Bobek, Martina Hingis, and Jennifer Capriati on the side with, ”Missing from Negative Editorial Portrayals” as a heading and  ”Have you seen them?” under their photos, remember there is little a White female athlete can do to earn the wrath and anger columnists exhibited when they wrote about Black female sprinters who juiced up on HGH and designer steroids to continue to earn a living. And there is nothing at all White, female athletes can do to get a columnist to summon the acrimony and the resentment they unleash verbally when a Black male athlete runs afoul of the law.

And what comes to mind is the beginning of an anthem. It begins with the question, “Oh say can you see?…”

No, I can’t.

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Addendum: Commenter “Origin” informed me that since the posting of this article, Diana Taurasi was suspended by the WNBA for the next two Phoenix Mercury games.

Tags: alcohol, arizona, athletes, basketball, blood, bud collins, champion, cocaine, commercials, commissioner, david stern, depend, detroit, drugs, final, florida, friends, gold medal, grand slam, head coach, heart, image, juiced, kobe bryant, lebron james, levis, los angeles, marijuana, marion jones, marketing, martina hingis, media, miracle, money, murder, patriots, phoenix, phoenix mercury, police, polls, potential, president, rally, records, reporters, riots, roger goodell, seattle, sexism, sports illustrated, sportscenter, steroids, suspension, television, tennis, wimbledon, writing

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8 Comments

1. Oh, please. Nicole Bobek’s arrest has been covered by CNN, Fox News, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and even Perez Hilton, among many others, and she was only a minor figure in skating 15 years ago and long since retired. It’s not like she’s Michelle Kwan or an Olympic champion or something - no one except a small handful of die-hard figure skating fans had the slightest idea who she was until the arrest made news. How can you compare her (or Martina Hingis, a Swiss tennis player who is hardly a household name in the US) to Kobe Bryant or LeBron James and claim that it is a race issue that their illegal activities get more attention? That is patently absurd. If Shawn Johnson or Michelle Kwan got arrested for cocaine use, you can bet that would be big news. It’s not about race, it’s about levels of fame.

   Comment by Sarah Humboldt on July 16, 2009

2. Yeah, sure, it’s all about race. It couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that none of those women are even a tiny fraction as famous as the black basketball and football players and black Olympic champs who have screwed up publicly, right? I am kind of shocked at how much coverage Nicole Bobek’s arrest got (there was no major news agency that didn’t feature a story on it), considering that her best finish at the Olympics was 17th and no American had a clue who she was. But saying that it is racism that LeBron James’ screwups get more coverage than Bobek’s is hilarious; everyone and their mother knows who LeBron is.

   Comment by Quinn on July 16, 2009

3. Some people will try to make anything and everything a race issue. This whole article is idiotic. Some twinkie skater who never even came close to medaling at an Olympics and retired 15 years ago and nobody ever heard of is not going to get the same news coverage as Kobe Bryant, who is a megamillionaire superstar with big endorsement deals. Nobody watches women’s basketball either and nobody knows who that female player is. I never even heard of Martina Hingis. So is it racism that Kobe Bryant and Terrell Owens are so much more famous and RICH than these white, female athletes? I guess it must be, since everything is proof of racism.

   Comment by grady on July 16, 2009

4. So a bunch of unknown white chicks don’t get the same media attention as Kobe Bryant and somebody thinks that’s racism against blacks? Get a grip. Kobe can give up his $50 million dollar salary any time he gets tired of all the attention, but I don’t see that happening. He admitted to raping that girl when she dropped the charges because Kobe’s fans were making her life hell for daring to stand up to a famous athlete who raped her, but it’s racism for the media to cover his arrest? Poor, poor Kobe, forced to endure being so horribly rich and famous that his arrest for rape gets attention from the press when white women who excel at sports are lucky enough to remain completely unknown and struggling and only get a few days of coverage when they get caught doing drugs. Yeah, my heart bleeds for him. NOT.

   Comment by Jon on July 16, 2009

5. blah, blah, blah. Poor little filthy rich and famous black male athletes. How terribly tragic for them that they get attention and money whether they are doing bad or good.

   I would bet that any of the women named in this piece would give anything to have made the kind of money and have had the fame that their male counterparts in the NFL and NBA have. But no one cares anything about female athletes when they are winning (unlike the men you named in this article, who make zillions and get anything they want for being top athletes), so why should the women get the same attention when they mess up?

   Comment by Starr on July 18, 2009

6. Im saddened by the stories of these young athletes who had the opportunity to be the best they can be, male or female, white or black, and they failed to be the role models, that in our world of sports,we expect from them.
   Meanwhile we have a real role model, that never drank alcohol, do drugs or smoke cigarrets, her name is Giuliana Mendiola, an excellent basketball player, who is banned for life from Wnba for the wrong of others.

   Comment by alicia on July 30, 2009

7. ha ha ha

   Comment by alicia on July 30, 2009

8. I, never commented ha ha ha, it is nothing to be ha ha ha in this story, it is sad.

   Comment by alicia on August 5, 2009

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