Hi Doug. I found last week in basketball disappointing — even depressing — after Sophie Cunningham’s anti-trans statement ruined what had been a terrific, celebratory and inclusive WNBA all-star weekend (Studbudz!). The only official fallout was a Seattle Storm owner getting suspended for five games and a banishment of trans flags in Portland. Both are a result of the Indiana Fever coming to town.

For a league largely built by Black and queer women, this year must feel like a giant step backward, despite the increased revenue and attention. And yet not a peep from the league office and nothing but a wishy-washy statement from Fever comms.

My question to you — as an observer of pro basketball for all these years — is: Where does this go next? And what must the league do as the anti-trans movement in support of Cunningham now travels to its third city in a week? Do you think the league is reluctant to act because of MAGA and Trump?

I coached girls for Toronto Triple Threat for 10 years, and I’ve been to four Tempo games this summer. I wish our players back then had this: a pro atmosphere that’s consistently celebratory regardless of the score. A unique crowd that is inclusive and welcoming. Rep teams of girls invited onto the court. It’s a sea of Tempo jerseys and T-shirts. Marina Mabrey is an instant favourite. It’s fantastic, but I fear it’s going to be ruined by far-right politics and I think that’s horribly unfair to a fan base that’s finally found a place to belong.

Interested to read your thoughts.

I wish I knew where things were going because I’d try to stop it. Sports has been co-opted and I don’t know how to put the genie back in that bottle other than work hard to return it to what it was: an appreciation of athletic excellence, a diversion, a way to create a collective that all kinds of different people can share.

It will take strong leadership to at least start the process and maybe the greater group can stem the tide. Sadly, it’s a hard, long slog. And for league leadership, it goes beyond the specifics of Cunningham, leaders have to tackle other issues somehow, things like social media interaction, on-court issues like officiating, and the like.

As for the Tempo, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been to a few games and it’s loud and celebratory and fun, like what sports is supposed to be and once was.

Hey, Doug. Hope you’re enjoying this relatively quiet period in the NBA.

The Blue Jays made a few trades before the deadline, including one for cash considerations and two hot dogs to be named later. What’s your take on these trades? Do they help the Jays this season or next?

Lloyd Robertson passed away this week. He worked in another part of the news universe than you, but did you ever meet him or have any professional interactions with him?

The Raptors have indicated they are willing to wait for the NBA investigation to conclude to consummate the Kawhi Leonard trade. Realistically, what does this mean? Are they willing to wait past the start of training camp? Past the start of the season at the end of October?

Finally, are you surprised that a team has not yet signed DeMar DeRozan? The reporting was that teams were waiting to find out where LeBron James would play, but that has been settled for some time and yet DeMar has not yet found a new home. Why?

It was indeed a nice quiet week, almost verging on boring.

I don’t think the Jays are any better today than they were the day before the trade deadline. They dealt away a near-ace pitcher to get one not as proven (and I get that José Soriano’s “under control” for a while, but that presumes there will be baseball next season). No matter what you think of Jeff Hoffman, he was nails for a lot of his time here and seemed effective in a setup role to Louis Varland. The rest? Prospects, and I read somewhere that about two of 10 traded prospects “pop” so good luck with that two or three years from now.

I met Lloyd Robertson briefly a few times over the years and he was always gracious and friendly, and never once did I get a sense he was full of himself. He was a giant in his industry and we need more giants like him. And can’t find any.

The Raptors will wait as long as it takes. I think it’ll be resolved soon, but realistically the next pinch point is the opening night of the regular season.

This is generally the slowest time of the year and there’s no urgency for DeMar to find a spot. I still think Brooklyn, Miami, Portland and Denver are interesting spots where he’d fit. There’s just no sense anyone’s in any rush.

Is Sophie Cunningham someone who should be applauded for wanting to protect “young girls” in sports from “biological men,” or is she a publicity seeker who waded too deep into a subject she doesn’t know the nuances of and got burned?

While I cannot for a second agree with her points and find them abhorrent, I can also defend Cunningham’s right to speak them; it’s a freedom of speech issue.

But strictly to your question, I am firmly on the side of the latter.

I agree with you 100 per cent, I am tired of this Kawhi Leonard situation. Not because of the situation exactly, but about the amount of misinformation being spread, and facts just being ignored … bloggers and reputable writers just writing about the most bizarre scenarios.

For one thing, Leonard cannot be suspended for a cap violation; that has not been reported at all. On top of that, it is the first week of August, who cares if this goes on for a couple more months. No one does or should, well at least those with whatever on the line don’t as it’s the NBA’s “dead season.” And to those that say Leonard is complicit in this, he had an agent, since switched. The agent’s task, as they are paid a sizable amount, is to carry on a negotiation. There are agents that aren’t too reputable (just ask Bobby Orr). And on top of that they have financial advisers, etc. Players like Leonard aren’t earning or living from paycheque to paycheque. He would have an overview of the particulars he would leave that up to his well paid representatives.

And then this latest Pablo Torre “bombshell” I find amusing.

Does anyone not think that this has already come up in the investigation? Everyone’s financials would be scrutinized, plus during the interview process this would have all come out already. From the get-go this has just been a story of low-hanging fruit that Torre has hung his hat on. Does anyone think that Leonard is the only incident of this ever happening.  Where is the investigation of others? Just ask Ben Johnson what it’s like to be the solely picked individual, when the whole race was juiced.

No, Leonard won’t be given a lifelong suspension. No, this isn’t even close to what Jontay Porter did, nor even close to what Donald Sterling did, nothing close to Joe Smith’s situation. There has to be some sanity and balanced reporting in all this. Thankfully you have, as last week and all along you presented your thoughts: rational and well thought out they were and are, and to me bang on.

Steve Ballmer will be fined, draft picks revoked, Leonard will have a heavy financial penalty. No suspension or negligible as I don’t even know if the collective bargaining constraints allows it.

No way this goes on until the new year. Mediation has probably already started. When Adam Silver divulges the penalty all will have already been settled by all involved parties.

The trade will go through and Leonard will be a Raptor. Nothing about this involves him as a player or the Raptors, nothing at all.

My question is: Why do you think there is so much disinformation out there? Ignoring the facts. It puzzles me. And you as a veteran, seasoned, reputable reporter must be frustrated by all this.

I am interested in your thoughts on this as a professional writer. Not as far as Leonard goes as he’ll be a Raptor, but for you to be thrown unwillingly into this quagmire/cesspool of a story.

Sorry for the long letter, but it just frustrates me as a lifelong sports fan.

Thanks and have a good one.

My guess — or rather an answer formed from decades of watching the decline of some journalism into “takes” and misinformed extrapolations and the downright misleading, misconstrued facts —  is that too many people “think” they know and don’t take the time to seek out information, don’t work hard enough to understand the depth of some issues and simply just like the sound of their own voices or the sight of their written words.

It makes it hard for the public to wade through the chaff to get to the wheat, so they tend to seek points that they agree with it. Right or wrong.

And it makes it hard to have to constantly make the same point simply in the hope that it will finally resonate.

But we do, because it’s important.

Hi Doug. Hope the lull in NBA action lets you get some R&R squeezed in. A couple weeks away from eating deep-fried whatever at the CNE this year!

1) Boring technical stuff, but the recent signings by the Raptors I assume are pretty much to fill out the 905 team. But I think I read that these guys signed two-way deals. Isn’t the team past the limit of three two-way contracts? Or are there several types of two-way deals? If you could clear this up for me it would be great!

2) Speaking of these deals, did the team try to sign Mr. seven-foot-five Jamarion Sharp to such a deal, but lost out to the Clippers? As I understand it, guys signed to certain deals can’t be poached by other teams, correct?

3) I had read speculation that teams were waiting to see where LeBron landed before going after guys like DeMar DeRozan. So we know he went to Philly, but no DeRozan news yet … or is there? Could there be something to the reunion rumours with Toronto? Why else would we not hear about other teams (Miami?) not signing him shortly after the LeBron announcement? Thoughts?

4) The elephant in the room! Once the whole Kawhi-gate scandal is sorted out, I assume the Clippers, Steve Ballmer or Kawhi (all the above?) will likely have to actually perform some public charitable acts to regain some goodwill with local communities, or at least for some kind of atonement. The Raptors have nothing to do with ANYTHING since these allegations occurred after he left. Your two cents?

Thanks for keeping us going during the “no news is good news” phase of this controversy

Oh yeah, another year for me to avoid the Ex. Nice.

Only one of the signings this week, Trey Jemison, was a two-way deal, bringing them to the maximum of three. The other, Andre Jackson, is a non-guaranteed camp invite and he’ll compete for a job with nothing assured.

It’s the same deal they had with Sharp, but when he got a two-way deal they let him go because it’s the right thing to do.

DeMar still doesn’t work here for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. As I’ve said, look to Brooklyn, Miami, Portland and Denver as possible landing spots.

And yes, the Raptors truly are spectators in the Leonard investigation. It has absolutely nothing to do with them, so they’re just hanging around waiting for a resolution and ready to jump whenever it’s over with. And that, my friend, cannot come quickly enough for me.

Hi Doug. Haven’t written for a while but always read (and mostly appreciate).

I turned 78 recently and really related to the article linked below and thought you might enjoy it for the different perspective (for some/many of your irregulars too) and from your “professional” everyday focus.

I still play halfcourt ball (after recovering 18 months ago from heart failure, triple stents and healing from a dissected aorta in Sarasota) and shared this article with my Florida 50-plus men’s basketball group and was heartened (no pun intended) by the reaction so many of them had to it.

There is a reason sociologists have spent decades studying pickup basketball.

Glad you’re doing so well!

BBall Barry in North Bay/Sarasota

Congrats, you’ve got a decade on me which is good, and we’re tied in aortic dissections and I’ll see your stent with my decade-old new mitral valve. I cannot, though, match you on participation; I’m way too sedentary these days.

But the story is interesting and carries a good lesson. I suspect if you traded basketball for many sports, it would have the same important message and benefits.