What's cool about the WNBA Draft? Certainly not WNBA.com's column, Five Cool Things About the Draft. Brad Friedman, targeting the young WNBA.com audience, fixes the 'cool' stamp on first round draft pick Kara Braxton and boyfriend Odell Thurman. They have a three-month old son. 'The big question WNBA teams had', Friedman writes, 'was whether or not she could shake off the rust of such a long layoff'.

We thought that the big question that WNBA teams had was whether or not Braxton will stick around this time. After all, she was suspended from Georgia basketball's program four times in two years. Braxton has previously wanted to rejoin her playing career and asked forgiveness. That being then and this being the pros, forgiveness need not be requisite when forgetfulness will suffice. Jaws dropped when, during the WNBA Draft telecast, Braxton was asked if mom status made her more mature than some of the other players.

'Braxton sat out her senior season in Athens while pregnant with her three-month old son', Friedman tells us, but the truth is that Braxton would have sat out the 2005 basketball season regardless. She sat out part of the 2002-03 season, 'on her way to an all-star season before missing the last eight games of the season due to suspension'. She sat out parts of the 2003-2004 season, too. Stacey Dales Schumann commented, 'Losing Kara Braxton, the best scorer on the team, to yet another suspension simply because she couldn't and wouldn't adhere to the rules, can ultimately be taxing to a team's psyche.'

Braxton would have sat out the 2005 with or without a baby. Her suspension was permanent. "By kicking her off the team," Ted wrote, "Landers has lost one of his best players and probably hurt his team's chances to go far in the tournament. But some things are more important than winning."

The WNBA.com article applies the 'cool' sticker to Odell Thurman, too. Thurman is Braxton's boyfriend, the Georgia linebacker who fathered the couple's child. According to the Friedman's article, Thurman expects to be a Day One pick in next week’s NFL Draft. Braxton is quoted as saying she's 'happy and excited' for NFL-destined Thurman, and Thurman is quoted as saying, 'We're still where we want to be today', in regard to their draft status.

The truth is that some NFL teams have downgraded Thurman just as some WNBA teams downgraded Braxton. His college record includes getting kicked off Georgia’s team as a freshman, a three-game suspension in 2004, and two alcohol-related incidents involving police. While on suspension, police were called to Thurman's university residence hall after a domestic dispute with Braxton. Three-month pregnant Braxton requested medical attention but when EMS arrived she refused EMS treatment. Thurman had a two-inch scratch on his neck. Police chief Jimmy Williamson said, "The young woman would have been arrested if they were cohabiting."

Which brings us to Mechelle Voepel. Hearing that Braxton had been asked during the draft telecast if being a mother made her more mature than other players, Voepel wrote 'You've got to be kidding. Look, let's be realistic. Having a child instead of playing your senior season is not a sign of 'maturity'. Braxton's tumultuous career at Georgia didn't suggest that trait, either. 'That said,' Voepel continued, 'let's hope for the best for this young woman. She's a mom now, and there are certainly top players in the WNBA who also are mothers and will tell you that did make a big difference in how they learned to accept responsibility.'

To Voepel, thumbs up for the common sense. To Kara Braxton and Odell Thurman, best of luck in your pro careers. To the WNBA, two thumbs down. One thumb down for sending the wrong message in its telecast in its leading question to Braxton. Another thumb down for the 'Five Cool Things.. ' article that capitalized on Braxton and Thurman, two gifted but troubled student athletes whose careers at the University of Georgia were anything but 'cool'.