WNBA Voting Scandal
Have you read about these "Punch Parties," where WNBA teams openly encourage their fans to stuff the ballot box, in complete disregard for all norms of democratic respect and decency?
Kara Braxton, flashing some secret anti-democracy sign.
Voting ended yesterday, so it's too late for my lament, but check this out, from the Detroit Shock's amazingly well-kept Web site:
Cathy Wamsley and her mother Judy from Monroe didn't want to miss the fun. After Friday night's party they collected the ballots and stayed up until 3 a.m. finishing. "We came home (Friday night) around 11:30 and started punching ballots," said Cathy.....
They punched about 370 ballots that night.....
On Friday night, fans that punched 15 ballots got the chance to meet Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith for autographs. On Saturday night, fans that punched 100 ballots got the chance to meet Kara Braxton for autographs and questions and ask head coach Bill Laimbeer questions about the team and the rest of the season.
370 ballots? 100 ballots? 15 ballots? Trading votes for access and commodities? Where are we, Absurdistan? No, we're in America, which is what the "A" in "WNBA" stands for, or should stand for, anyhow. You vote once here, and then you trust the judgment of your fellow citizens. Unless, apparently, you're one of the freedom-hating Putsch-encouraging executives of the Detroit Shock, who probably rig the results of their Fan of the Game contests, too. What kind of democratic name is "Shock," anyhow? Sounds suspicious.
And don't think their little ploy isn't working. I don't care if the Shock's 10-2 record is best in the East; do they really deserve to have, get this, five of the seven leading vote-getters in the East, and four of the five starters???? Who's coaching the team, Putin? Why don't the voter fraud-obsessed folks in Justice stop firing people and take a look at this?
And ok, I get it, the Mystics aren't having that great a year, but Alana Beard happens to be seventh in the entire league in scoring. How can she be 23rd in Eastern votes? That proto-autocrat in Detroit who voted 370 times could have provided two percent of Beard's entire voting bloc, by herself. It's just outrageous, and I don't outrage easily.
By Dan Steinberg |
June 25, 2007; 11:37 AM ET
| Category:
Mystics
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Posted by: Lindemann | June 25, 2007 12:43 PM
Diebold.Election.Systems.
Posted by: onside kick | June 25, 2007 01:19 PM
Is this the appropriate place for me to mention that at the Capitals equipment sale, we saw a conference room full of Mystics employees/fans/well wishers with cartons of WNBA All-Star Ballots?
Posted by: Kim | June 25, 2007 04:13 PM
Too bad Bad Boy Bill and the Shock don't offer to pick up the tab for the DC's All Star Game...since it's beginning to look like the Detroit invitational. blech.
Posted by: DC Disappointed | June 25, 2007 05:04 PM
"Is this the appropriate place for me to mention that at the Capitals equipment sale, we saw a conference room full of Mystics employees/fans/well wishers with cartons of WNBA All-Star Ballots?"
NO, this is not the appropriate place.
Posted by: Ghost of Charm | June 25, 2007 05:09 PM
Don't forget to mention how they honor fans at the games who punch the most ballots. Fans at the Mercury games were honored for punching 20,000. That's ridiculous.
Posted by: bball | June 25, 2007 05:22 PM
If the Mystics punch the most ballots in the WNBA, will they raise a new banner?
Posted by: Kim | June 25, 2007 05:49 PM
I have to say that this makes good business sense for teams, so why wouldn't they do this? Not only does it extend the interaction with their fans, but it gets their players attention on a bigger scale.
Kudos to the Shock and Sun and Storm for having an organized front office and getting out in front of this. Instead of complaining, why not encourage your favorite team to make the extra effort as well? I would have loved it if the Comets did something like this.
You're all missing the point that the league and players are fighting for attention. This isn't a democracy, it's a struggle for survival.
Congratulations to the Shock for having a forward-thinking and well-planned initiative.
Posted by: Freda, Houston | June 25, 2007 05:52 PM
Don't forget to mention how they honor fans at the games who punch the most ballots. Fans at the Mercury games were honored for punching 20,000. That's ridiculous.
Sorry but that is an out an out lie!
In my 11 years as a Mercury season ticket holder they have NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER given a prize for how many all star ballots you punch. Heck this year the COO said the internet was the best place for Merc fans to vote and you could hardly find the ballots at the arena....please go to gotnext.com where the COO's direct comments are quoted.
Posted by: caune | June 25, 2007 06:05 PM
Don't forget to mention how they honor fans at the games who punch the most ballots. Fans at the Mercury games were honored for punching 20,000. That's ridiculous.
Sorry but that is an out an out lie!
In my 11 years as a Mercury season ticket holder they have NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER given a prize for how many all star ballots you punch.
Both of you are correct. No, there was no prize given to the people who punched out the 20,000 ballots, but yes, they were honored on the jumbotron. But Caune, you are also correct about having to find the ballots to begin with.
Posted by: | June 25, 2007 06:20 PM
Don't forget to mention how they honor fans at the games who punch the most ballots. Fans at the Mercury games were honored for punching 20,000. That's ridiculous.
Sorry but that is an out an out lie!
In my 11 years as a Mercury season ticket holder they have NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER given a prize for how many all star ballots you punch.
Both of you are correct. No, there was no prize given to the people who punched out the 20,000 ballots, but yes, they were honored on the jumbotron. But Caune, you are also correct about having to find the ballots to begin with. The people that punched that many ballots out problem spent more time finding the ballots than actually punching them out
Posted by: | June 25, 2007 06:21 PM
Don't forget to mention how they honor fans at the games who punch the most ballots. Fans at the Mercury games were honored for punching 20,000. That's ridiculous.
Sorry but that is an out an out lie!
In my 11 years as a Mercury season ticket holder they have NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER given a prize for how many all star ballots you punch.
Both of you are correct. No, there was no prize given to the people who punched out the 20,000 ballots, but yes, they were honored on the jumbotron. But Caune, you are also correct about having to find the ballots to begin with. The people that punched that many ballots out probably spent more time finding the ballots than actually punching them out
Posted by: | June 25, 2007 06:22 PM
Shock and Sun and Storm
Weren't these the female American Gladiators from the '80s?
Posted by: Rob Iola | June 25, 2007 06:37 PM
A Merc fan punched out 20,000 ballots?
Get a life!!!
Posted by: Ghost of Charm | June 25, 2007 08:49 PM
umm I was at last night's comets game where like 10 fans were honored for punching 20,000 ballots.. Not a lie...
Posted by: bball | June 25, 2007 09:07 PM
"umm I was at last night's comets game where like 10 fans were honored for punching 20,000 ballots.. Not a lie..."
Well, since each team is only given 65,000 paper ballots, it sounds as though someone needs to investigate how the Comets got 200K.
Posted by: Ghost of Charm | June 25, 2007 10:17 PM
caune is obviously used to submitting a lot of things as evidenced by the quadruple post.
A 'struggle for survival' should mean that the WNBA do something that resembles legitimacy/mainstream, not gimicky ballot stuffing tactics. It's one thing to send out an email to encourage 'vote early, vote often' tactics, but to fill up a conference room with employees and boxes of ballots makes it all a joke.
Ever stop to wonder if the wrong women's league folded?
Posted by: Kim | June 26, 2007 12:13 AM
Speaking of the Caps, I heard from an attendee at the uniform unveiling party that Agent Steinbog himself was there but we have yet to see the result of that on here. What gives?! Or is there another younger looking bald guy under 40 in town with a "Bog" press hat?
Posted by: Chris | June 26, 2007 10:27 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Absurdistan didn't have a democracy at the end of the book, or even a plebecite-enabled dictatorship. Did Shteyngart write a sequel?