Women: Jazz and Basketball

I'd like to talk a bit about two of my passions - jazz and basketball.  I've been playing and listening to jazz since the age of thirteen and have been a fan of basketball (more specifically, the NBA) for as long as I can remember.  One similarity that the two share is that it's greatest players live in, or visit New York City to perform at the highest level.  

I'd like to bring up two of the most polarizing figures in jazz and basketball - Kobe Bryant and Wynton Marsalis.  Kobe is currently my favorite active player and while Wynton might not even crack my top 10 active trumpeters, I still have tremendous respect for what he can do on the horn.  The two are actually very similar in their approach to their craft.  They both demonstrate near flawless technique and are both considered to have extremely "high IQ's" in their respective fields.  The two of them also share a certain level of controversy surrounding them.  Coincidently, a main issue encompassing them both involves women. 

In July 2003 Kobe Bryant was arrested under charges of sexual assault.  Kobe was never found guilty of the crime but he did end up settling (an undisclosed amount) with his accuser.  Up until that point Kobe was the poster boy for the NBA.  He was smart (fluent in many languages), heavily endorsed, a dominant basketball player (a main contributor to 3 Laker titles won consecutively), and was even tattoo-free.  After his arrest, and much like Tiger Woods is experiencing right now, Kobe lost most, if not all, of his sponsors and received endless public scrutiny.  Thankfully, for Kobe, he stayed focused on being the best basketball player in the world and is now being considered as one of the top 10 greatest players of all-time.  Recently, Kobe even eclipsed both Michael Jordan (visitor record holder - 55 points) and Bernard King (record holder, 60 points) by scoring the most points ever (61) at Madison Square Garden.  Who knows, maybe Wynton was even attendance?  He is known to be a big fan of basketball.

Now, even though Wynton has somewhat of a reputation as being a "dog" when it comes to women, he has never been accused of something as serious as sexual assault.  Rather, the controversy surrounding Wynton deals with his role as Musical Director of the Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra.  To date, there has never been a female member of the group.  According to Wynton, he hires orchestra members based on merit and reputation.  However, this process seems to be quite old fashioned.  Most orchestras now hold "blind auditions" to avoid special treatment towards an applicant.  Since this audition process has been instated the number of orchestra positions awarded to women has increased exponentially.  I think this audition process would be fair to establish for the LCJO considering the amount of public funding it receives.  

The NBA has also faced gender issues with regards to having women compete for an NBA salary.  Just like the LCJO, the NBA has never had a woman lace up with the men.  In 1979, Ann Meyers from UCLA was invited to try-out for the Indiana Pacers, however, she never made the final cut.  Same for LCJO.  They have had female members sit-in on rehearsals, but never for a public performance.  It's easier to debate the absence of women in the NBA based on physical ability and risk of injury.  Not to say that all men are better athletes than women, but when you get to the professional level the competition does favor male athleticism.  However, when it comes to women and jazz, there isn't really much of a debate.  You don't need a 45 inch vertical leap to play Giant Steps.

I find it surprising though that it's the NBA that has taken a public stance on including women in the NBA.  When asked about whether we would see a woman playing in the NBA in the next ten years, commissioner David Stern was quoted as saying, "Sure...  I think that's well within the range of probability."  The LCJO's stance seems intent on preserving current audition methods.  Methods that favor male performers.

There are currently over 400 players in the NBA, whereas the LCJO employs only 15 members.  So in conclusion, my question to the blogger nation is, which will we see first... a woman play in the NBA, or perform as a member of the LCJO?

   - by sask4myopinion