Candace Parker: Symbol of Star and Parent, or Gender Discrimination Victim?

Several months ago, I reported that the face of the Women’s National Basketball Association, Candace Parker, was pregnant. Already, people were wondering whether the 23-year-old Parker would be able to pull it off. Most female pro athletes wait a decade longer to start a family.

As the New York Times reports, now that the baby has been born, people are still wondering. Parker won’t be back as a player with the Los Angeles Sparks until late July. In the meantime, her every move and mood are being watched. Will she be able to leave the baby? Will she be able to put the WNBA ahead of the baby when she has an obligation that conflicts with her daughter’s situation? Can she be Kobe Bryant or LeBron James sharp and be a mother?

The reason pregnancy or gender discrimination creeps into this discussion is that these questions would have never been asked about Bryant or James when they had their children. The mothers of their children make sure the children are taken care of. In Parker’s case, the father of her child is also a pro basketball player and not expected to be Mr. Mom.

Whether discrimination is a legitimate question when comparing Parker to her male counterparts, the potential Parker dilemma raises two related questions that may or may not smack of pregnancy (or gender) discrimination but will continue to be asked by a wide-ranging group of people.

First, in most cases, is there something that a mother brings to a parent-child relationship that a father can’t? If so, most mothers will make sacrifices for their children that most fathers won’t. Second, can anybody be a super star (in the sports, business or any world) without putting his family second to his career? If no, then all the talk (even from President Obama) about work-life balance is futile.