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| Wednesday, July 11 Updated: July 12, 2:57 PM ET |
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| Harrison considers posing for Playboy Associated Press | |||
PHOENIX -- A day after saying she would pose nude if Playboy
readers chose her for an off-season pictorial, Lisa Harrison of the
Phoenix Mercury backed off the statement and professed surprise at
the interest it generated.
"I think it's really sad that I get all this attention because
of possibly being in Playboy as opposed to what I do on the court
every day," Harrison said Wednesday night after a losing game
against Los Angeles.
She said lack of attention to the quality of women's play
bothers her more than being considered a sex object.
"I know I'm not the leading scorer on the team, but I do
sacrifice myself as far as playing defense and being an unselfish
player," Harrison said. "And I would like to be recognized for
that."
Visitors to the magazine's Web site have been asked to vote for
one of 10 women in the "Sexiest Babes of the WNBA" contest.
The poll ends Monday, the day of the league's third All-Star
Game, and the winner will be announced then. Harrison, who had a
lead of about 1,000 votes, called the media attention premature.
"First I have to win the contest," she said. "If they made me
a great offer, I'd be foolish not to look into it, but I'm not
saying I'm definitely going to do it, so at this time it's been
totally blown out of proportion."
Seth Sulka, the team's vice president of operations, hadn't
formulated a policy about players posing for a men's magazine and
said the Mercury were in a bind because all WNBA players are
contracted to the league.
Neither he nor Harrison knew if her contract contains a clause
governing off-court behavior.
"If she's allowed by her contract to do it and she makes the
decision to do it, I think you'd have to support her," Sulka said.
The magazine had the same contest last year, but winner Michelle
Marciniak turned down the offer to do a pictorial.
Lisa Leslie, who had 15 points, eight rebounds and five of Los
Angeles' WNBA-record 13 blocked shots in the Sparks' 75-61 victory,
is a returnee who as a model and athlete says she also feels the
nomination is an honor.
The 6-foot Harrison is familiar with the duality of attention
paid some female athletes.
She is averaging 9.1 points and 5.0 rebounds a game, starts
at small forward and is the Mercury's consensus best defender. She
also is making the league's veteran minimum of about $35,000 a year
and has to pay for her room and board two-thirds of the year.
"Yes, it's flattering to be recognized and being attractive -- you know, being a female athlete, because a lot of us aren't
perceived that way," Harrison said. "So it is a nice compliment,
but it's far from being closed as far as any type of deal."
Others returning among the current nominees included
Washington's Nikki McCray, Houston's Sheryl Swoopes and Orlando
coach Carolyn Peck.
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AUDIO/VIDEO  ESPN The Magazine's Sally Jenkins weighs in on Lisa Harrison's interest in posing for Playboy.wav: 2838 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |
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