Wow...........seems like some bridges are been seriously burned.

I think Jan Stirling just said what has been on everyone's mind for a long time, well done.

Jan Stirling is behaving like the professional she truly is and in that position, she has every right to demand nothing but professionalism to prevail. Marino is the owner but if he wants a sucessful team, he needs to put it fully into the hands of Stirling and allow her to make all the decisions regarding the players. Her record as a coach speaks volumes. I would not be crossing paths with her. Stirling is what the team desperately needs and she needs to do it her way.

Stirling reaped the rewards for being the up and coming next National coach.

She was able to recruit the best National talent and ran up massive financial losses every year fro BASA.

She doesnt have the necessary recruiting pull now and has really just put another nail in the womens sports coffin IMHO.

Massively disappointing from someone who should know better than to openly bag the sport she claims to represent.

What wouldn't I give to be a fly on the wall when Angela or Vince come across comments like those made by Stirling in that article.

Clearly everybody knows that Vince runs the Adelaide Lightning in order to ensure that his daughter has her place in the limelight of the local basketball scene for as long as she wants it. It is absurd that this is so widely known, and has never even been disputed by either Marino at any stage. Either the Marino's treat these accusations as so insane that they won't even deign to comment on them, or they are so deeply intwined in their own game of self-promotion that they don't care what anyone thinks or says about them!

Does Vince even care that Jan Stirling - the most successful national coach Australia has ever seen - looks upon his organisation with such disdain that she will not consider taking over the head coaching position until she can be assured that she can expunge any and all of Vince's influence over the running of the team? Does Vince even care that most of SA's brightest up-and-coming talent would not touch his club with a 10ft stick? Wouldn't any sane businessman care about the image that he gives himself when he brings a proud club to it's knees all for the sake of a few more minutes on court for his daughter?!

Anyway, I just find it hard to see how Vince, and especially Angela, can stan the blase way that people (me included..) talk about the clear family favouritism going on in the Adelaide Lightning.

Actually was very suprised to read yesterday just how many ABL clubs wont play Angela. Might see her at Centrals!

VODKA 52 - you sound surprisingly like an ex Lightning player who quit the team because they wanted to start every game and were unwilling to accept Jan's style of commitment and then openly supported opposition teams every time they played in Adelaide. Very sad that a very talented player should be so bitter.

Vodka 52. Jan Stirling never bagged the game she represents. She 'bagged' Lightning. Not even the most ardent supporter would suggest that Lightning IS BASKETBALL. It is only one club in a national program that even includes states outside SA. As for another nail in the coffin of womens sport, I coach a number of womens teams and i am quietly confident that all my players will still turn up to training and their games this week despite this massive blow to the game. If on the other hand i was involved at Lightning i may not be so confident. But there lies the problem. To extrapolate this issue to include the entire country is a little far fetched!!

Vodka 52 - As a casual follower of basketball in SA and the Lightning, I read yesterday's article with interest. I've never played the game nor have my kids. Nor do I have a relationship with any clubs. So I feel pretty arm's length from the whole situation.

I tend to follow commentary on this discussion forum with that casual interest. One of my bug bears is people misrepresenting information because they have an axe to grind. I truly get the sense that your post is all about such an axe and not about teh article in yesterday's paper.

I didn't see where the article said that Stirling claimed to represent the sport of women's basketball. As a casual follower, I certainly don;t view her as such a representative but I am interested in her views, given her past roles as a player and a coach in the WNBL and nationally.

Nor did I read her comments as bagging the sport at all. I read them as being about the Lightning and her views on why she would not be likely to be asked to coach them. The rest of the article reported material independent of Stirling's views, providing interesting (to me as an outsider) background to her comments and the problems the Lightning have experienced.

Astor - I wouldn't put too much weight on the lack of direct response to posts on a discussion forum - even this. There's a lot of dross to wade through and a lot of irrational statements. Personally, I find a lot of attacking posts tell me more about the posters than about the people they often malign.

I believe Jan was asked about coaching the 36ers in the past and declined. She was then on a panel put together by the club to pick the next (and now current) coach.

Why have Angela play ABA when it is alleged that she views each quarter stats and then if one player is better than her ie more points she doesn't pass them the ball. And I have to say after watching her play at ABA and WNBL level you would have to say that there is some credence to those allegations.

Cancer to a team makes you fail to pick up a gig and whilst I have never actually been privy to the lightning or sturt locker room I'd say there are plenty around the league that view Angela as a liability not an asset. She flat out can play pity that her off court antics are causing such angst. It will be a sad legacy for her to leave IMO. And whilst I try not to think that every time I see smoke there must be fire. There is too much smoke here not to be the starting of a bushfire.