Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Friday, October 22, 2004

Thoughts on Val --

First, from Val herself: "This was entirely my decision and it’s a very difficult one because in many ways I think of the WNBA as a third child. But, it’s required a great deal of time and it’s required a great deal of energy. I felt very strongly that this was, and is, the right decision for my two daughters."

Barry on the Duke Board: "Val Ackerman was certainly ambitious and did a great job in trying to start a professional sports league in a saturated market. She has created something more than a niche market... However, I do feel that her 'everybody's wonderful, everybody's beautiful' attitude with the media (i.e., repeatedly avoiding hard questions and deflecting any negative, and very often, substantive issues) was disingenuous and, frankly, contributed to the perception (whether true or not) that she was little more than David Stern's patsy."

Also FCP's Clay Kallum: "Though some viewed her as a David Stern puppet, I think Val Ackerman did what the job required: She needed to be relentlessly positive and upbeat about the league, and be an articulate, attractive spokesperson. We don't know how much influence she had on decision-making, but we can say this: The league seems to have laid a solid foundation on her watch, and it appears that most of the teams are profitable, or very close."

Pilight: "My feeling is that, at the outset at least, the W needed someone that had a relationship with David Stern, that he trusted and that trusted him. That was Val in a nutshell. She was the perfect choice to oversee the birth of the league. The league has progressed to the point that that's less of an issue. We need someone that's more of an innovator and risk-taker. That is most assuredly not Val."

Timber: "She did good, but it's time to move on."

Helen, via email: "As a long time member of the theater community, I was reminded of some wise words uttered by an Artistic Director I worked under. 'The person who has the vision and drive to found and run a company is often, and for good reason, the right person to be lead it for the first 8-10 years. But they're not necessarily the person who is best equipped to run it for the NEXT 10 years.'"

David Carter, president of SBG: "The fact that the first five or six years had been totally or primarily NBA driven, the last couple have been driven by her. Originally, she may have played second fiddle or had to get her bearing based on the dominance of the NBA but I think she has demonstrated pretty significance business prowess of her own."

Voepel attacks all critics. She says ABL diehards were just living in "a financial fantasy world." She says that criticism of Val as a Stern patsy was "silly and it ignored just how important it was that someone of Ackerman's intelligence, background, dedication and commitment was there on the inside of the NBA at the time she was."

Bottom line from Mechelle: "the WNBA isn't just another business, another "thing" to sell. Sure, it's necessary to run it with a firm eye on the bottom line ... but also with a fully committed heart. Ackerman knew that all along. Whoever takes her place better never forget it, either."