Current, Former Women's National Basketball League Players Submit Petition To ABC

Past and present Women's National Basketball League players submitted a petition to the ABC on Wednesday "demanding the national broadcaster change its decision to drop NBL TV broadcasts," according to Roy Ward of THE AGE. As the ABC "moves close to selling off its live broadcast trucks and Basketball Australia officials have preliminary talks with other TV networks and live streaming companies," a group of WNBL supporters, led by former player Carolyn Watts, attracted nearly 5,000 signatures for their online petition. The petition calls on ABC Managing Dir Mark Scott to "keep the national broadcaster's 35-year partnership" with the WNBL going into '16 and beyond. Canberra Capitals player Lauren Jackson said it was time the ABC "came to its senses and continued supporting the league, which had been the cornerstone of an Opals' world championship" in '06 and several Olympic medals. Jackson: "It's crunch time, we want the ABC to change its mind" (THE AGE, 2/18).