(ThyBlackMan.com) There is a lot of attention about the NBA “bubble” and the potential resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season later this month but the 2020 WNBA season is also scheduled to start this month. WNBA players already have so many complaints about the living conditions at the WNBA’s IMG Academy “bubble” in Florida. It is difficult to adjust to working within a world with the coronavirus even for some of the world’s best athletes and that includes WNBA athletes. As Americans deal with the challenges of COVID-19 and the protests of police brutality systemic racism, there are a lot of changes and adjustments made to the daily routines of all Americans. In the era of quarantine and social justice, people have been reminded of how fearless many of the Black women who play basketball for the WNBA.
By now, many sports fans are well aware of the name Maya Moore. The 2014 MVP and six-time All-Star has not played in the WNBA since 2018 because of her dedication towards getting a trial for family friend, Jonathan Irons, who was serving a 50-year prison sentence for a non-fatal shooting that happened when he was 16. She got more involved in the fight to exonerate him, both visiting and befriending him in prison. It was her time, energy, and focus that led to a Missouri judge overturning the ruling against Irons earlier this year and he was recently released from prison. Moore’s act is the type of selfless move that other Black WNBA athletes have drawn inspiration from.
Renee Montgomery won a championship with Maya Moore in college at UConn and multiple championships with her in the WNBA. Montgomery is currently a player on the Atlanta Dream but will skip the 2020 WNBA season to focus on off-court initiatives such as the Black Lives Matter movement. In making her decision, she said, “There’s a moment right now that I want to capitalize on. A lot of companies are asking, ‘How can we help people? What can we do?’ They might not be asking those same questions in four months. So for me, while they’re asking those questions, while the whole world is looking at this, I want to be a catalyst to keep it going.” Montgomery’s decision means that she will not receive her full salary and that is a financial sacrifice.
Natasha Cloud of the Washington Mystics has also decided to sit out the 2020 WNBA season to fight for social justice. She has been an activist in the past including organizing a media blackout to call attention to gun violence at Hendley Elementary School in Southeast Washington D.C. Regarding her decision to sit out 2020, Cloud wrote via social media, “I have a responsibility to myself, to my community, and to my future children to fight for something that is much bigger than myself and the game of basketball. I will instead, continue the fight on the front lines for social reform, because until black lives matter, all lives can’t matter.” In a nice move, Cloud’s new shoe sponsor, Converse, will cover those lost wages and pay the Washington Mystics star the entirety of her forfeited 2020 salary.
The WNBA players who will play the 2020 WNBA season will have messages on their jerseys related to social justice causes including Black Lives Matter. In a league in which the majority of the talent is Black women, it is unsurprising that so many choose to sacrifice for others by stepping away from their careers for significant causes. The Black women of the WNBA have shown great leadership in many areas and are great examples of Black female leaders we see in other avenues of life.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines