VOA慢速英语2019 女性在美国NBA中的影响力不断壮大（在线收听）

Women's Influence Growing in US Men's Professional Basketball

Training is over for the day, but one Boston Celtics basketball team coach is still working.

当天的训练已经结束，但是波士顿凯尔特人篮球队的一名教练还在工作。

Assistant coach Kara Lawson is on the team’s court helping new player Carsen Edwards improve his game. He gets the ball into the basket several times and then runs over to her.

助理教练卡拉·劳森在该队的球场上帮助新秀卡森·爱德华兹提高球技。他几次投篮命中，然后跑向了她。

“Thanks coach,” Edwards says before exchanging a high-five with Lawson.

爱德华兹在跟劳森击掌庆祝前说道：“谢谢教练。”

Welcome to the new look of the National Basketball Association, or NBA - the men’s professional basketball league in North America. Women now are involved in most parts of the organization — from broadcasting, officiating and coaching to high-level management and even team ownership.

欢迎来到美国国家篮球协会—北美男子职业篮球联盟的全新时代。女性现在参与了该机构的大部分工作，从转播、主持、教练到高层管理人员，甚至是球队老板。

Lawson is one of a record high 11 women serving as assistant coaches among the 30 NBA teams.

劳森是30支NBA球队中创纪录的11名女助理教练中的一位。

“It’s not a fad,” said former professional basketball player Nancy Lieberman. “It’s opportunities going to very accomplished women who have given their life to the game.”

前职业篮球运动员南希·利伯曼表示：“这不是一时风潮，这是那些将生命奉献给比赛的才华出众的女性们的机会。”

The change in the NBA is recent. The 61-year-old Lieberman remembers a time when women were rarely seen in the NBA.

这是NBA近年的变化。61岁的利伯曼记得那个时代在NBA中很少见到女性。

Lieberman herself has broken barriers as a player, as a coach in the WNBA, as head coach in an NBA minor league and as an assistant in the NBA. She says she quickly learned that building relationships was critical to easing gender barriers in the organization.

利伯曼本人作为WNBA的球员、教练，作为NBA发展联盟主教练，以及作为NBA的助理教练打破了壁垒。她称自己很快就了解到营造关系对于缓解该机构中的性别障碍来说至关重要。

She found support from organization members, like former coach Don Nelson. In 2009, he chose Lieberman to be head coach of the minor league Texas Legends team. Now she serves as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, along with two other women.

她获得了机构成员的支持，例如前教练唐·尼尔森。2009年，唐尔森选择利伯曼作为发展联盟的德州传奇队的主教练。现在她与另外两名女性在萨克拉曼多国王队一起担任助理教练。

Players respect the women assistant coaches for their experience and knowledge of the game.

球员们尊重这些女助理教练的比赛经验和专业知识。

Kara Lawson was a basketball star at the University of Tennessee and later won a WNBA championship with the Sacramento Monarchs. She also won a gold medal with the U.S women’s basketball team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

劳森曾经是田纳西大学的明星球员，后来随同萨克拉门托君主队获得了WNBA冠军。她还在2008年北京奥运会上随美国女篮一起获得了金牌。

She retired from play in 2015. Earlier this year, she joined the Celtics as a coach.

她于2015年退役。今年年初，她加入了凯尔特人队担任教练。

Player Gordon Hayward said Lawson has made her presence felt.

球员戈登·海沃德表示，劳森的表现获得了认可。

“She’s been good as far as just the experience she has as a basketball player,” Hayward said. "Having [someone] that well-versed in basketball, that experience is good.”

海沃德表示：“单就她作为篮球运动员的经历而言，她一直都很出色。得到这样一位精通篮球的教练，这种体验很棒。”

One female assistant coach, Kristi Toliver, does double duty. She plays for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. She also serves as an assistant coach to the NBA’s Washington Wizards team.

女助理教练克里斯提·托利弗具备双重身份。托利弗效力于WNBA的华盛顿神秘人队。她还同时担任NBA华盛顿奇才队的助理教练。

“The biggest thing I learned is to share your voice and what you’ve learned,” Toliver said. “Doing that has helped me communicate with my guys.”

托利弗表示：“我学到的最重要的事情就是发出你的声音，拿出你学到的东西，这样有助于我同大家沟通。”

Richard Lapchick examines racial and gender hiring numbers for the NBA and other professional sports organizations. He praised the leadership of Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner. Silver said the league needed to increase the number female coaches and referees.

理查德·拉普奇克研究了NBA和其它专业体育组织中根据种族和性别的聘用人数。他赞扬了NBA总裁亚当·肖华的领导。肖华表示，联盟需要增加女教练和裁判员的人数。

Along with the record number of female assistants, five female referees will be working NBA games this season.

除了创纪录的女助理教练人数，本赛季还将会有5名女裁判执法NBA比赛。

Lapchick believes the NBA will soon have its first female head coach. He said such a move would go a long way toward putting even more women in position to make decisions in the sport.

拉普奇克认为NBA很快就会出一位女主教练。他说，此举对推动更多女性在这项运动中掌握话语权将会大有助益。

“I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen before the next season,” he said."

他说：“如果下赛季还没实现这点，我会觉得奇怪。”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

coach – n. a person who teaches and trains the members of a sports team and makes decisions about how the team plays during games

high-five – n. a gesture in which you slap the palm of your hand against the palm of someone else's hand in the air usually to show that you are happy about a victory or accomplishment

fad – n. something (such as an interest or fashion) that is very popular for a short time

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done; a chance

accomplished – adj. very skillful: having or showing the skill of an expert; very successful; very successful: having done or achieved many good or important things

well-versed – adv. highly experienced or skilled; knowledgeable

referee – n. a person who makes sure that players act according to the rules of a game or sport