Anybody who knows me knows that I am an unapologetic Portland Trailblazers fan.  To that end, I am a regular reader of NBA news across the internet (in related news, if you ever had an extra ticket to a Blazer game and you want an enthusiastic companion, give me a call.)

Today, as I do most days, I clicked over to the ESPN NBA page to see if there was any basketball news to note.  What did I discover?  Here are the top two stories:

1) National Basketball Players Association has a new boss:  Michele Roberts.

2) The world champion San Antonio Spurs just hired a new coach: Becky Hammon.

There is arguably no bigger Boys-Club than men’s professional sports. There are more stories than I wish to remember of abuse, condescension and exclusion from the world of male athletics.

AND YET, even out of this often misogynistic realm, excellence is impossible to ignore forever.  Into these two authority-rich, highly public and big-stage filling roles the National Basketball Association have embraced two obviously skilled woman: Michele Roberts and Becky Hammon.  And rightly so.

I am saddened that my family, the Christian church, still struggles to apply a level ground for all positions of excellence, authority and leadership.

Even the NBA has woken up to this simple idea.

And by the way, the earth isn’t flat.