Basketball History, Continued
Protests continued, claiming women’s basketball was unladylike, scandalous, and indecent, making it fall out of favor with younger female students. It began gaining popularity again in the 1960's during a push for equality. Title IX was passed in 1972 by the United States Government, which prohibited gender discrimination in education and sports.
In 1978 the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) started with eight teams, but folded after only three seasons. The Liberty Association of Basketball (LAB) attempted a league in 1991, but only made it through one exhibition game. Five years later the American Basketball League (ABL) was founded with ten teams, but went bankrupt halfway through the third season. Finally in 1996, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was established. The WNBA formed close alliances with the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Lifetime networks. By the end of 2000, the league had sixteen teams.
Sylvia Fowles of the United States and Bian Lan of China
Did You Know?
The slogan for the 2008 Olympics was "One world, one dream."
Olympic Women