Shouldn’t it be called basketball baby mamas or basketball groupies or basketball girlfriends? Wouldn’t another name be more appropriate than basketball wives? Don’t you have to marry someone to be a wife or at least have been married? Am I crazy here? What’s the deal with that?
~ Dr. Boyce Watkins
A petition on Change.org started in April 2012 to boycott VH1’s Basketball Wives and Evelyn Lozada’s spinoff show Ev and Ocho has reached over 32,000 signatures on route to its total goal of 35,000.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University Professor of finance and ‘The People’s Scholar’, gave the show a thorough thrashing in the commentary video.
Companies like Summer’s Eve and Burger King have pulled any future ads from Basketball Wives and Ev and Ocho.
Celebs Wendy Williams, Star Jones and Sherri Shepherd also took a stand against the shows, as well as former Basketball Wives cast members Keisha Nichols and Tanya Williams, who shared their personal beefs with the show.
However, despite strong opposition, Basketball Wives LA’s second season is in the works on VH1’s wives-television reality train, which includes Basketball Wives, Hollywood Exes, Mob Wives, Football Wives, and Love and Hip Hop. Proceed with caution.
Though VH1 has met its match with Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta, New Jersey, Orange County, New York, Beverly Hills., Miami and D.C. Coming soon to a city near you.
It makes you wonder, have networks lost their creative edge? Or are the ratings really that good?
Whatever the reason, these shows have fully saturated the airwaves and are truly overexposed.
Vlogger Kingsley would agree.
Since starting the petition, Spelman College student Alexis has received many questions through email:
Cynthia: “Do you hate Evelyn?”
Alexis: No.
Kiaya: “What made you start a petition?”
Alexis: Some teenage girls I mentor were having aggressive conflicts. They were using cruel verbal, physical, and psychological tactics to injure another child. I found out the ring leader was imitating some of the Basketball Wives (Evelyn & Tammie).
Hannah: “Why didn’t you boycott Bad Girls Club and Love & Hip Hop?”
Alexis: I’m not familiar with either one. I suggest you start a petition. If you see a problem find a solution.
Yes, ban these bitches!
All those shows on black women who have gone crazy shd be stopped. They are a disgrace – complete lunatics.
There just as many, if not more crazy white women shows too. White people aren’t calling for those shows to come down? Why are some black folk so interested in how other people live their lives.
Some of you decide to work for Morgan Stanley, etc. who are always ripping black folks off, or you are republican and you in with all those conservative ideas that keep our public schools bad and denigrate women – nobody’s it telling you to change or top working for the rich white man!
Now you wonna tell other people who are just trynna hustle to quit. You quit! maybe you shd start disciplining your children and stop them from watching these shows – if you think they are bad for your kids then stop your kids from tuning in. Hipocrites!