Monica McNutt Says We Haven’t Even Come Close to Peak Women’s Sports

I was there for the Liberty’s 2024 Championship win. There for game five. It's the first time that it's a winner-take-all overtime game in the finals in WNBA history. It's the first time that a series has two overtime matchups in the five-game set.

To be in that arena, to celebrate with this current iteration of the New York Liberty, and then to turn around and see Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon with tears streaming down her face… it was this culmination of the athletes I loved and grew up watching as a young girl in ’97 through the early 2000s, when the league was in its formative years. Fast forward 28 years to 18,000 fans in Barclays Center; Ellie, the Liberty mascot, is an icon; it’s like a super team of sorts. It’s this incredible combination of the past and the present, basically the trailblazers and the players taking it to the next level. 

When you call a game, you want to educate and entertain. This year, there was definitely more emphasis on educating. Because, yes, it's a bigger audience — we're so glad you're here — but there's some steps and people and names you should know. There’s a dance of how to infuse and capitalize on the energy of the now while paying homage and respect to how we got here.

Big-picture conversation? Across society, it's so easy for us to each be in our silos. And it’s easy to think that, because the women’s game is showing up in your algorithm over and over, that mainstream has truly caught on. I don't know if that's true. Yes, this year we've seen monster progress with incredible viewership across the WNBA and women's college basketball. But I still think we have a long way to go.

One thing that I love to do when I’m calling a game, especially on the road, is to check out local podcasts. What’s been the conversation in the community? Either for both teams if I'm traveling to do a national game, or if I'm traveling with the Knicks to do a Knicks game. I think podcasting has given us this unique lens into the fan experience, because fans are smart and engaged and locked in. You can pick up really cool insights. Sport is so much about the community, and that’s where I find some of my favorite nuggets. 

Sport allows us to have conversations. It brings together community and it empowers people, particularly our young women. There's so much research on women who go on to be leaders and C-suite executives because of their background in sport. And if you're interested in sport at all, there's a seat for you in the women’s game. Come check it out. Show respect and pay homage to these athletes for doing incredible things. Basically, pick a city and pull up! 

For girls in sport, I’m already seeing a boldness and an audacity and expectation. I'll be 35 this month, but I vividly remember, not so long ago, boys getting certain things we didn't get. And it was like, “Hold up, let me get this straight: They ain't won no tournament games and I have, but they get the better X, Y, and Z?!”

This generation has shown us that multiple things can be true. I can be incredibly appreciative of the opportunity in front of me and also say, “Hey, we're deserving of more as student athletes on this campus.” This generation’s willingness to speak up for themselves and ask for better, even if the conditions might not be poor, but to say, “this can be improved” — I think that's dope. 

Two career moments stick with me where I knew I was doing the right work. The first was 2021. South Carolina and UConn were one and two in the country in women's NCAA basketball and I called the game with broadcaster Lisa Byington. Incredible contest: Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston, Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma. I remember waking up that day feeling like they were gonna call me and say they were putting somebody else in. It was huge for me. And then, last year's Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, Knicks versus Sixers. That finish will be something I remember for the rest of my career. The rest of my life, frankly. 

My advice for young women looking to advance in sport: Have a healthy relationship with the word “no.” Use it to protect yourself and your dreams and receive it without it decimating your aspirations. And that can be tough. Sports are so saturated. There's a reason people want to get into it! It's competitive, just like the actual games. You need to have a certain level of toughness to keep navigating the series of “no’s” that are, frankly, inevitable.

Second, you gotta be where your feet are. The only thing in life that is truly inevitable is change and for a lot of us — byproducts of American society, Millennials down to Gen Z, whoever — we want to skip steps. But there's no microwave. You know what I'm saying? Let it slow cook. Learn what you're supposed to learn in each season and enjoy it. Because if the job takes over your life, you may miss out on some of the things personally, right? So, while you've got balance, or maybe your personal life is the leader in the clubhouse, enjoy it, because it can change. 

Movement is a nonnegotiable for me. It's funny, for ex-athletes, I find it takes a long time to develop the soft workout regimen because it's like, “If I'm not sweating or burning 1,000 calories, did I do anything?!” And now, being a bit older and not competing at a high level anymore, you learn the importance of different modalities and listening to your body. I am always down to throw around some kettlebells. I love a good Pilates class. Even walks, right? Getting outside, taking in some fresh air, just moving my body. That’s one of the things I took from my athlete foundation. You have to move, for your muscles and your mind.  

Thinking about the next season of the W, I’m thrilled about the expansion. I think when you've got a charter organization like the Liberty that finally gets their championship, you got new organizations coming in, you've got athletes that are connecting both on and off the court, brands as big as ever — it makes you think, “What is it going to look like in 10 to 15 years when the generation of girls that got to watch this version of the WNBA are turning pro and becoming college athletes on their own?” You can only imagine that the boldness is going to continue. And the talent. You got Caitlin Clark coming out of college knocking down all those records, having a historic rookie season. You got JuJu Watkins coming behind her. The talent keeps growing. And a true love for the game.