Through the vantage point of the equally two-and-a-half decades-old New York Liberty, the WNBA earns the school of ‘Hard Knocks’ documentary treatment – with (most) name-assignment in the bottom corner of talking head testimonials strategically omitted, it seems.
Unfinished Business premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, June 13. Filmmaker Alison Klayman’s latest work, per the aforementioned dribble, speaks to the choir still confident basketball is the team sport it originated as – not the collision of individuals the NBA has been accused of propagating nowadays.
Apropos, considering the NBA – behind its innovative former commissioner, the late David Stern – signing off on welcoming a sister league was what brought respect for the female athlete into the mainstream conversation like never before.
And yet, they still have far from enough.
The film time-cuts between typically overseas-sent pro athletes seeing a dream realized overnight when the New York Liberty came calling in the mid-90s; and the state of the game today. They are not where they want to be, but are still proud to exist within a media space, and overall culture, more approving of the ultra-feminist and pro-LGBTQ lifestyles lived by many of the league’s standouts.
From their 1997 debut to the past 2021 season of dramatic proportions–wherein they made history playing the entire season at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, sharing the Atlantic Avenue Hub for Hoops with the Kevin Durant-led Nets, the Liberty have more than earned their namesake.
This documentary sheds an illuminating light on exactly how.
Much like the household name athletes in men’s sports who grace more of the SportsCenter highlight reels due to gender disparities in coverage that, while they have lessened, still haven’t quite dissipated, it isn’t just a game for these women. It’s their livelihood; and life at large.
Celebrate the lives of the pillars for equality in the sports world just as Klayman and company have done. At the heart of the film – between high profile celebrity cameos across years of stock footage that more than spell out “those who are cool are with it, so why aren’t you?” rhetoric – is the age-old fight against adversaries looking to undermine you until you’re under indefinitely.
As the documentary preaches both through its text and its title: the league is not failing, despite what you may have heard. It just hasn’t won the big series yet.
They’ve spent years in overtime, though, and are just looking for that second heat. That’s where you come in. Watch Unfinished Business when it’s available to the masses post festival-circuit. Then watch an WNBA game. Then, watch many more – because you’ll be hooked from the tip-off.
Where can I find them? Well, your team hasn’t monopolized its regional network, you know. There is room for everyone on the same channel, just like there is room for two collections of New York basket-balling excellence at Barclays.
Featuring: Teresa Weatherspoon, Rebecca Lobo, Sue Wicks, Betnijah Laney, Sabrina Ionescu, and rockstar Joan Jett, amongst others.
Stay tuned for The Messenger’s continued coverage of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival over the coming weeks.
