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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Oregon associate head coach Mark Campbell is ready to lead a team of his own.</li><li>The master recruiter has brought many <keyword id="6361805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword> and <keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> talents to up-and-coming programs.</li><li>Insider spoke to Campbell, <keyword id="9054779" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sabrina-ionescu">Sabrina Ionescu</keyword>, and <keyword id="10965295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="satou-sabally">Satou Sabally</keyword> about the coach's stunning record.</li></ul><p>Before Sabrina Ionescu was a national sensation and the face of <keyword id="1737297" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="College-Basketball">college basketball</keyword>, she was like any other senior in high school, weighing her options and struggling to make a college decision.</p><p>The only difference, of course, was her status as a top-tier high school recruit. Ionescu knew that her choice could and ultimately would change the landscape of the <keyword id="125824" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NCAA">NCAA</keyword>. It's a heavy burden to place on the shoulders of an 18-year-old, especially one as considerate and discerning as <em>this </em>18-year-old.</p><div type="image" title="sabrina ionescu" height="1407" width="1876" msid="81608249" hostid="261"></div><p>That was never lost on Mark Campbell, the assistant coach who led Oregon's longshot effort to land Ionescu despite the Ducks' absence from the NCAA Tournament for upwards of a decade.</p><p>"You weren't going to trick Sabrina," Campbell told Insider. "She is the most street smart man or woman that I've ever dealt with in my college career. And so that played to my advantage where all I did is speak in truth and honesty in the recruiting process."</p><p>"You had to really get to know her, which a lot of people don't get that deep with the kid," he added. "And we did that for four years."</p><p>Patience was a virtue throughout the crafty point guard's recruiting process, which was "unorthodox," she told Insider, and didn't come to a close until "the day before summer school started." But as other coaches and recruiters tightened their grips in an attempt to force Ionescu into making a decision, Campbell exercised patience and restraint, knowing that "if we can land this one, it's going to change the trajectory of Oregon women's basketball forever."</p><p>He was right- and, boy, did it pay off.</p><div type="image" title="sabrina ionescu.JPG" height="1666" width="2222" msid="81608250" hostid="261"></div><p>"I don't think I would be at Oregon if it wasn't for Coach Campbell," Ionescu said. "The level of commitment that he had recruiting me and the honesty and character that he showed through that was one that I knew wasn't fake. He was definitely honest and really sold the vision. And I bought it because I saw it as well."</p><p>"Through the recruiting process, there's really no one better just as a person and human," she added. "Because he didn't only care about you as a basketball player, and he just cares about you as a person."</p><h2>Campbell's recruiting success began on the men's side of college basketball</h2><p>Born into a love for the game thanks to his older brothers, Campbell grew into a respectable player known as an "elite defender and a pass-first point guard." His greatest attribute, he said, was his "vision and basketball IQ," both of which made him a standout baller in high school and carried him from Cal Poly to Clackamas Community College and, later, to the University of Hawaii.</p><p>And though his basketball knowledge is formidable, it was Campbell's compassion that led him back to the Pacific Northwest and kick-started his coaching career. After helping the Warriors to an NCAA Tournament bid, he returned to Clackamas for his "dream job" - teaching and assistant coaching while running an elite boys Nike EYBL team. He "wanted to give back to that group of kids that are at community colleges," and he did, but he was quickly noticed by some bigger power players in college basketball. Shortly after that, Campbell earned his first Division I offer.</p><div type="image" title="mark campbell.JPG" height="1415" width="1887" msid="81608252" hostid="261"></div><p>He took his talents to Pepperdine, a program with nothing more than a handful of NCAA Tournament appearances to its name. Still, he lured in an impressive class of top-ranked recruits, including a budding NBA star by the name of Paul George.</p><p>"The first step is being able to identify the talent," Campbell said of his recruiting efforts. "You have to have an eye that can identify who the special ones are. And that's tricky because if you just look at the NBA or WNBA draft, they don't always accurately assess who'll be the next superstar."</p><p>But Campbell could, time and time again. And once he did, he knew that the question at hand became, "can you truly build a relationship with these kids - men or women - that is real and authentic?"</p><p>"I think that's one of the gifts I have is in my recruiting my ability to build those relationships with the families and the kids," Campbell said. "There really isn't any sales. It is based on brutal honesty, keeping it real with good things, bad things. The way I go about it, I think, is different than the majority of the industry."</p><p>So when Pepperdine's head coach resigned and his recruits scattered to the wind, Campbell was able to pick up where he left off. He moved on to St. Mary's and worked with other future NBA players, including Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova. While with the Gaels, Campbell "learned the whole industry" from head coach Randy Bennett, whose coaching tree includes a handful of Division I coaches. </p><div type="image" title="st. mary's.JPG" height="1664" width="2218" msid="81608254" hostid="261"></div><p>"He's a great teacher - very detailed and has developed an amazing culture there," Campbell said of Bennett. "So I am just incredibly indebted to those two years that I got to work and learn from him."</p><p>But just as Campbell got settled in the Bay Area - and St. Mary's found breakout success with a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA tournament - his phone rang with an offer he couldn't refuse.</p><h2>Campbell left an elite position with a men's team for "the worst job in <keyword id="6312906" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Womens-college-basketball">women's college basketball</keyword>"</h2><p>Shortly after his eldest daughter Maley was born, Campbell had the chance to move his young family back to the Pacific Northwest via an assistant coaching position with the Oregon State Beavers' women's team. He took the gig despite the bleak outlook for the program, which "had imploded" and only featured "one scholarship player on the roster" when he arrived on campus.</p><p>"It was a drastic change," Campbell said. "In hindsight, it was an amazing opportunity to go cut your teeth and try to dig out of a deep, deep hole at Oregon State, where they had no tradition and limited resources and facilities."</p><div type="image" title="mark campbell" height="1777" width="2369" msid="81608255" hostid="261"></div><p>Over the next four years, Campbell's recruiting prowess and coaching acumen helped sow the seeds for a Final Four program. He brought in multiple future WNBA players, including Sydney Weise and Jamie Weisner, helped developed the guards and offensive schemes for head coach Scott Rueck.</p><p>By the time the 2014 season came around, the Beavers were a top-25 team in the nation and made their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1996. Never one to become complacent, Campbell decided to make it his final year with Oregon State to move on to another project.</p><p>"The hard work was done at Oregon State," Campbell told me. "The Final Four pieces, the WNBA players - everything was set and built at Oregon State to have some long-term success. And so I was ready for my next challenge."</p><h2>Campbell traveled a few miles south for "another major rebuilding job" at Oregon</h2><p>He quickly got to work fitting himself into Kelly Graves' system and making his Ionescu-to-Eugene moonshot a reality.</p><div type="image" title="mark campbell" height="1875" width="2500" msid="81608258" hostid="261"></div><p>But landing the superstar out of Walnut Creek, California, was far from his only big win those first few years with the Ducks. A 5-foot-10 guard out of Spain, Maite Cazorla became "the cornerstone of the program" after signing with the team "sight unseen." And Ruthy Hebard, an "under-recruited" prospect from Alaska Campbell recruited, became a bona fide star in her own right in four seasons at Oregon.</p><p>But it was Satou Sabally, a "once in a generation European talent" who Campbell believed pushed the group to a whole new level. So he traveled across the Atlantic on numerous occasions to watch her play, visit her parents, and just get to know Sabally as a human, not just a prospect.</p><p>"I remember that so well," Sabally told Insider. "It meant a lot to me that he would fly to my town ... we bonded quickly. It felt good to know someone personally and not talk to them on the phone only."</p><p>"He was the only one that I let come multiple times," she added. "Because our conversations and meetings felt natural."</p><div type="image" title="satou sabally.JPG" height="989" width="1320" msid="81608259" hostid="261"></div><p>Securing a commitment from the 6-foot-4 star with guard skills and a forward's frame - "a unicorn" in the basketball world - was not exactly a straightforward process for Campbell. Without that same patience, empathy, and genuineness he showed with Ionescu, Sabally would have followed through on her initial intention to attend a different school.</p><p>"I was a little bit scared," Sabally told Insider. "Oregon seemed too good to be true, and sometimes, because [Coach Campbell] never promised me anything, I thought I wouldn't play a lot ... [even though] my gut told me to go to Oregon."</p><p>But Campbell knew her by then, and he knew her well. So when Sabally broke the <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> that she'd be taking her talents elsewhere, Campbell encouraged her "to think about it another night," she said.</p><p>"That's all he asked for," Sabally added. "And when I did, my whole mind changed. And I knew it would be a mistake if I didn't go to Oregon."</p><div type="image" title="mark campbell" height="1517" width="2023" msid="81608262" hostid="261"></div><p>Two Elite Eights, a Final Four, NCAA records, and multiple WNBA first-round picks later, the Ducks have cemented themselves among the upper echelons of women's college basketball, going toe-to-toe with the old guard both on the court and on the recruiting trail. According to Ionescu and Sabally, Campbell has been nothing short of instrumental in that transformation.</p><p>"He just has this 'Mark Effect' about him, and the people that he takes under his wing just have that same mentality," Ionescu said. "He's a beast. He wants to win. Whatever it is, he wants to succeed."</p><h2>"The Xs and Os are important, but connecting with your players and building trust that is real and deep and authentic - that's what coaching is about"</h2><p>Ionescu described spending "every single morning" during the season working out with Campbell. She credited the associate head coach with teaching her to pick and roll, a move that has since become a signature component of her game.</p><p>Sabally remembered poring over film with Campbell to hone her defensive skills - "or not," she joked. In practice, they worked together on shot creation, rebounding, and more defense.</p><p>Both former Oregon superstars who went first and second overall in last year's WNBA draft raved about their relationships with the coach. They also highlighted his influence in shaping the people they've become off the court.</p><p>"He never just treated me like a machine basketball player," Sabally said. "He knew when I needed some rest ... But he would also have conversations with me when I needed to spend more time working on something. He always kept it real with me from the beginning to now."</p><p>And when Sabally couldn't return home to Europe for the holidays, Campbell and his family would welcome her into their celebrations.</p><p>"Sometimes it got really hard for me, especially after Christmas my freshman year, because I couldn't go home," Sabally said. "He and [his wife] Ashley always took care of me and made us all feel at home since we had a lot of international players."</p><div type="image" title="sabrina ionescu mark campbell" height="1540" width="2054" msid="81608263" hostid="261"></div><p>Sabally wasn't the only one who came to see the Campbells as family. For Ionescu, her relationship with her former coach "goes beyond basketball." Campbell talked the star through her decision to stay at Oregon for her senior year, supported her as she struggled to cope with the death of her mentor, Kobe Bryant, and grieved as her final season in Eugene came to a premature close because of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><h2>Campbell is ready for his "next challenge" - helming a program of his own</h2><p>Finding a foothold at an ailing program and pouring in blood, sweat, and tears to lay the groundwork for eventual success has become the story of Campbell's career. As has become a recurring theme, Campbell is prepared for his next opportunity after seeing that success to fruition with Oregon.</p><p>However, this time, he's ready for a twist to the narrative; he wants to become a head coach.</p><p>"My personal goal is to be a head coach and to have the opportunity to lead my own program and to mentor these young women," Campbell said. "That's my next step. That's my next challenge."</p><div type="image" title="mark campbell" height="3098" width="2500" msid="81608264" hostid="261"></div><p>And he'll have some power players in his corner should he get the nod to take over a school's program. Even though Ionescu's and Sabally's blood runs green and yellow, both Ducks legends expressed undying loyalty to the coach who brought them so much during and after their time at Oregon.</p><p>"I would have any school or player call me, and I'd simply tell the truth," Sabally said. "He is qualified and has made a huge impact on who I have become as a player and person."</p><p>"Wherever Mark goes, I'm a fan," Ionescu added. "I'll be a fan forever wherever he goes because of who he is and how successful that program is going to be ... Any team that is passing on him or has passed on him is making a mistake and the next team that's going to take a chance with him as head coach is making the right move."</p>

The secret weapon behind the most stunning rebuilds in college basketball is ready to lead his own team

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> players took a stand against the <keyword id="11896956" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="texas" source="Orion">Texas</keyword> law that effectively bans <keyword id="11901426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="abortion" source="Orion">abortion</keyword> across the state.</li><li>The players' association took out a full-page New York Times ad to advocate for reproductive rights.</li></ul><p>WNBA players have never hesitated to use their voices to advocate for what they believe is right.</p><p>This week, they used their platform to speak out against the restrictive Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.</p><p>The WNBA players' association took out a full-page ad in Sunday's New York Times to demand #ReproductiveRightsNow. The ad states that "reproductive rights are human rights" and that "family planning is freedom."</p><p>"As professional athletes, our bodies are our instruments," the letter begins. "Our livelihoods. Our craft."</p><p>"Which means control of - and over - our bodies, both on and off the basketball court, is about much more than athletic performance, earning potential, or personal politics," it continues. "... Abortion, birth control, and fertility care are vital - not just for athletes who can get pregnant, but for <em>all </em>families and gender identities."</p><p>The players refer to laws like the one passed in Texas, known as the "Texas Heartbeat Act," as "cruel abortion bans." They implore Times readers to "join us in speaking out against oppressive laws - and lawmakers - that dehumanize us, deny our fundamental freedoms, and attempt to dictate our most basic rights."</p><p>"This isn't just our fight," the ad concludes. "It's everyone's. Our bodies, our health, and our futures are our OWN. Togther, let's tell our politicians to keep their hands off our reproductive rights - and their #BansOffOurBodies."</p><div type="image" title="Layshia Clarendon." height="1405" width="1874" msid="87171931" hostid="261"></div><p>The letter was signed by members of the <keyword id="11956143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnbpa" source="Orion">WNBPA</keyword> Executive Committee and the WNBPA Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee - including Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks, Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm, Layshia Clarendon and Nat Achonwa of the Minnesota Lynx, A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Satou Sabally of the Dallas Wings, Elizabeth Williams of the Atlanta Dream, and former WNBA players Sydney Colson and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt.</p><p>On the day the ad ran in the paper - the same day of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals - Ochonwa joined Phoenix Mercury stars Brittney Griner and Brianna Turner in wearing orange sweatshirts that read "Abortion is healthcare" across the front.</p>

WNBA players bashed Texas' 6-week abortion ban with a full-page New York Times ad

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> players publicly endorsed Democratic candidate <keyword id="307904" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Raphael-Warnock">Raphael Warnock</keyword> — the opponent of incumbent Georgia senator and Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler.</li><li>Their support proved instrumental in Warnock's victory and the Democrats taking control of the US <keyword id="6355284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="senate">Senate</keyword>.</li><li>The internet flooded with praise for the players, but many of the plaudits were directed at one player in particular — Seattle Storm superstar <keyword id="1148900" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sue-Bird">Sue Bird</keyword>.</li><li>Bird, Liberty star Layshia Clarendon, Wings rookie Satou Sabally, WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike, and agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas talk about the role of race and gender play in keeping the women from getting their due.</li></ul><p>WNBA players helped change the course of the American Republic.</p><p>In August, the women of the league banded together to oust Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler from her US Senate seat. Earlier that month, players across the league <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-stars-endorse-dream-owner-kelly-loefflers-senate-race-opponent-2020-8">publicly expressed their support for Loeffler's Democratic challenger</a>, Reverend Raphael Warnock, by wearing T-shirts bearing his name before a slate of games.</p><p>Continued support from the <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-georgia-senate-runoff-vs-team-owner-kelly-loeffler-2020-11">WNBA players propelled Warnock through Georgia's special jungle election</a> in November. <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-raphael-warnock-endorsement-pushed-dem-in-georgia-polls-2020-12">Research suggests that their efforts were pivotal</a> in enabling the Reverend to force January's runoff, which had significant national implications in determining which party would control the US Senate.</p><div type="image" title="sue bird warnock" height="1285" width="1714" msid="80334316" hostid="261"></div><p>When <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-senate-runoffs-loeffler-warnock-ossoff-perdue-live-results-2021-1">Warnock defeated Loeffler</a> to become the first Black Democratic senator elected in a Southern state, the internet flooded with long-overdue praise for the WNBA players who made the Reverend's victory possible. However, many of the plaudits were directed at one player in particular - Seattle Storm superstar Sue Bird.</p><p>That fact was not lost on the 11-time All-Star and all-time WNBA assists leader, who spoke with Insider about her role "as a white player ... trying to amplify the voices of the Black women."</p><p>"Was it easier to digest that me, as a white woman, came up with this idea?" Bird asked. "Yeah, probably. I am probably treated differently because I am white."</p><h2>Who gets the credit?</h2><p>New York Liberty star Layshia Clarendon spearheaded the league's dedication to the social justice movement and the "Say Her Name" campaign throughout the 2020 season She told Insider that, after a spring that reinforced "the exhaustion of being Black in America," they and WNBA players' union president Nneka Ogwumike asked Bird "to carry this emotional weight" of the efforts to take on Loeffler.</p><div type="image" title="layshia clarendon" height="1512" width="2016" msid="80334317" hostid="261"></div><p>"We just told Sue like, this is great, we're all behind it, but we don't have the time and energy - particularly as Black women - to lead this fight," Clarendon told Insider. "It's too hard for us. It's too draining and difficult and really hurtful."</p><p>"We just felt as though this was more of a moment for allyship and for players like Sue to take the reins and really support us," Ogwumike added. "We didn't feel as though we'd necessarily had the energy to be able to take that on by ourselves ... It was one of these hard conversations that people find themselves having today."</p><p>But there was another, more disheartening motive for Clarendon, Ogwumike, and their Black counterparts to appoint Bird as unofficial point person of the "Vote Warnock" movement. They assumed that, based on her skin color, Bird would garner more attention for the Reverend's campaign than they could.</p><p>"You sometimes have to wait until you get like a white voice, like a Sue or someone to validate it," Clarendon said. "And then it's like, 'Oh, okay, got it.' It's like, why won't you just listen to the Black voices that have been saying this time and time again?"</p><p>"White folks in our country will listen to other white people tell the pain and struggle of Black people before actually just listening to Black folks," they added.</p><div type="image" title="breanna stewart" height="1666" width="2223" msid="80334318" hostid="261"></div><p>This phenomenon was underscored at the end of 2020 when <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">Sports</keyword> Illustrated selected Breanna Stewart as the WNBA's lone recipient of the 2020 Sportsperson of the Year award. After recovering from a 2019 Achilles tear, leading the Storm to their second title in three years, and earning her second WNBA Finals MVP award in the process, Stewart undoubtedly deserved recognition for her remarkable 2020 season. But SI's explanation for her nomination, which framed the soft-spoken, 26-year-old as the crusader behind the social efforts the entire league championed together, was not received well.</p><p>While accepting the award, Stewart used her platform to clarify the record. She explained that she's committed to "representing the majority of our league, which is Black women."</p><p>"Even as a white woman and a white player, I'm going to continue to amplify the message for them and continue to make this world a better place," Stewart said. "And that starts with our league."</p><p>Through no fault of Stewart's own, one of the leading publications in the sports world chose to cherry-pick her as their "Activist Ally" when several Black WNBA players - Clarendon, Ogwumike, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/sports/basketball/elizabeth-williams-activism-wnba.html">the Dream's Elizabeth Williams</a>, Natasha Cloud, and Renee Montgomery, to name a few - were perhaps more fitting of the award's description.</p><div type="image" title="nneka ogwumike" height="1156" width="1541" msid="80334319" hostid="261"></div><p>"Tone deaf was absolutely the right term to use for SI, especially with the manner in which it was presented," Ogwumike told Insider. "And quite frankly, as a Black woman and as a Black woman athlete, it almost was kind of like, oh, people still don't understand us."</p><p>"And it's at the detriment of someone who should be celebrated for what she did on the court," she added.</p><p>For Clarendon, it's "no surprise" that the WNBA's Black players are "constantly overlooked," adding, "I mean, it has happened to Black women throughout history every day."</p><h2>'<keyword id="6390075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sexism">Sexism</keyword> and <keyword id="44060" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Racism">racism</keyword> come together to create the most challenging possible environment for Black women to find success'</h2><p>Sexism and racism have a long history of operating hand-in-hand to stifle the achievements of Black women in America. Amelia Earhart is widely remembered as America's sweetheart of the skies, but Bessie Coleman, a Black woman who earned her pilot's license months before Earhardt did, hardly gets comparable recognition. Though the LGBTQ+ rights movement has long been portrayed as one engineered by white, gay men, it was Marsha P. Johnson - a Black transgender woman - who has only recently been credited for her role in orchestrating the Stonewall riots that started it all. And who could forget Neil Armstrong's 1969 "one small step for man?" But who remembers Katherine Johnson, the Black woman whose mathematical prowess powered his "one giant leap for mankind?"</p><div type="image" title="satou sabally" height="1666" width="2222" msid="80334322" hostid="261"></div><p>The Black women of the WNBA find themselves in a similar, all-too-familiar position. They've been at the forefront of the social justice movement, but their contributions have regularly been overlooked in favor of white and male faces because, according to Clarendon, they're "fighting so many layers as Black queer women that a lot of folks don't have to face."</p><p>"We have to almost anticipate that this is going to happen," Dallas Wings star and WNBA Social Justice Council member Satou Sabally told Insider. "That whatever we did the summer may not get as much recognition as the NBA would or other leagues would get if they were to do the same thing."</p><p>"If an NBA player or a major male sports league had gotten behind a candidate, it would just be such national news that the cycle would constantly be playing over and over," Clarendon added. "They say Black people have to be twice as good. Black women have to be 30 times as good just to get the attention that a LeBron [James] or another male athlete would get."</p><p>According to Wasserman agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas - who represents a star-studded list of WNBA players including Bird, Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Brittney Griner, Sylvia Fowles, Jewell Loyd, Seimone Augustus, and more - "Black women athletes have represented this intersection" of racism and sexism for as long as they've been competing.</p><div type="image" title="AP20208579410612" height="3848" width="5130" msid="80334324" hostid="261"></div><p>While living "at those intersections of identity" serves as a hindrance for Black women's advancement in all sorts of pursuits, it also "automatically sets you up to be more aware," according to Clarendon.</p><p>"I think WNBA players have always recognized the fundamentally political nature of their existence and certainly their success in sport," Colas said. "And so they've always been activists because they're Black women when they wake up."</p><p>Still, it may come as a surprise that Black women in the WNBA used their platforms to protest police brutality before some of the bigger names in sport spoke out on the issue. In July of 2016, Maya Moore and her Minnesota Lynx teammates wore T-shirts calling for "Justice &amp; Accountability" to raise awareness of the police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.</p><p>Two months later, Colin Kaepernick took a knee for the same cause.</p><p>"People now will recognize the things that Maya Moore has done," Bird said. "But Maya Moore and her Minnesota teammates, they were protesting police brutality even before Colin Kaepernick. I think a lot of people either don't know it because it didn't get its coverage or just kind of have chosen to forget. I don't know what the reason is. I don't know why that happens."</p><p>"And to your point earlier, is it because it's Black women?" she added. "You know, history would say, yeah, that's exactly why."</p><div type="image" title="wnba breonna taylor" height="1166" width="1555" msid="80334325" hostid="261"></div><h2>'You're going to have to do it better for longer to make progress' </h2><p>"The fact that this still exists doesn't really surprise me," Colas said. "It's an everyday battle of chipping away, celebrating the wins, but knowing that there's still progress to be made."</p><p>Throughout her career, Colas has found that representing WNBA athletes comes with the added challenge of overcoming the dual forces of bigotry and misogyny. She finds herself, time and again, having to "explain why these women should matter, why brands should be investing in them, and why they should be paid their value."</p><p>But even further, Colas and others affiliated with the league - as well as the women of the WNBA themselves - continue to fight for acknowledgment of the strides they've made in the social justice sphere. </p><p>"I still am not naive to the fact that the W is still going to have to like fight and claw and scratch to be acknowledged for this Warnock win," Clarendon said.</p><p>"We helped flipped the Senate," Sabally added. "And that is something that a lot more people should talk about."</p><div type="image" title="layshia clarendon" height="1667" width="2500" msid="80334326" hostid="261"></div><p>For some, the players' role in the elections may look like a breakthrough. Clarendon even described feeling "really hopeful that things are changing." But for Colas and the women she represents, complacency is not on the table.</p><p>"We take the wins, and we get to point to them, and we continue to build momentum," Colas said. "But it's just one of those things where, you know, you're going to have to do it better for longer to make progress."</p><p>It's an exercise in patience for some of the best <keyword id="36237" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball">basketball</keyword> players on the planet, who are overworked, underpaid, overlooked, and undervalued relative to the athletes in whiter, more male-dominated sports leagues.</p><p>"Black women are always in the back end of everything," Sabally said. "And I think with this sport, we're able to uplift exactly this part of society that has been overlooked so many times. And that's why I'm proud to play in the WNBA."</p><p>For Sabally, as well as Bird, Clarendon, Ogwumike, and their colleagues, the influence they had in aiding Warnock's win serves as reassurance that they can "be the start of that change."</p><div type="image" title="wnba" height="1666" width="2222" msid="80334327" hostid="261"></div><p>"I mean, that's all we can hope for, right?" Bird said. "To try to be the change that we want to see. And I think the WNBA represents that, and it goes way beyond me. I happen to be one person in this one story. The WNBA has been doing it. It has been at the forefront of so many issues, and our league is made of Black women, and that's the reality."</p><p>"And I hope this league does start to get its flowers," she added. "The women of our league deserve it. They're more than deserving, and, to be honest, it's about time. I think it's past due."</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-georgia-senate-runoff-vs-team-owner-kelly-loeffler-2020-11">WNBA players endorsed the opponent of Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler to help force a runoff for Georgia's Senate seat</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/sue-bird-wnba-nba-equal-pay-2020-10">WNBA legend Sue Bird says calls for equality with the NBA are not about equal pay</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-raphael-warnock-endorsement-pushed-dem-in-georgia-polls-2020-12">WNBA players' endorsement of Raphael Warnock pushed the Democratic candidate ahead in Georgia Senate race, research suggests</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/lebron-james-wnba-atlanta-dream-senator-kelly-loeffler-georgia-election-2021-1">LeBron James expressed interest in buying the WNBA's Atlanta Dream after players campaigned against team owner and former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler</a></li></ul>

It's time to give the women of the WNBA their flowers for the roles they play in politics and social justice

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9054779" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sabrina-ionescu">Sabrina Ionescu</keyword> has been given VIP treatment for far longer than she's been a <keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> player, but in her second game in the league, she put on a performance befitting a superstar.</li><li>The 5-foot-11 point guard recorded 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists against the Dallas Wings Wednesday night, scoring more than 40% of her team's point total in her 34 minutes on the floor.</li><li>Many fans saw the influence of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant — a known mentor of Ionescu's — reflected in the <keyword id="747448" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="New-York-Liberty">New York Liberty</keyword> rookie's breakout performance.</li></ul><p>Sabrina Ionescu was receiving superstar treatment well before she ever suited up for a WNBA team, but no one was entirely sure how long it would take for the 22-year-old point guard to play up to the massive expectations cast upon her.</p><p>Turns out, the answer was less than a week.</p><p>In her second game since the New York Liberty selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, Ionescu dropped a thirty-piece on the Dallas Wings and her former Oregon Ducks co-star, Satou Sabally. Ionescu's 33 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor accounted for more than 40% of New York's 80-point total. And she added seven rebounds and seven dimes to boot, making her the first Liberty player to record a 30-5-5 stat line in the last five seasons.</p><p>"I definitely felt a little bit more like myself — more comfortable, more confident in the game," Ionescu said after the game.</p><p>Ionescu's impressive showing came four days after what many described as a lackluster 12-point, six-rebound, and four-assist performance in Saturday's WNBA season opener. But considering the Walnut Creek, California, native faced a star-studded Seattle Storm squad featuring the likes of legendary point guard Sue Bird and 2018 league MVP Breanna Stewart, she composed herself decently in her 34 minutes on the floor.</p><p>"I just needed a feel for the game a little bit in that first game and kind of get my feet under me," Ionescu said. "Now I'm feeling a lot more confident and getting used to a lot of the defenses I'm having to face."</p><p>Still, Ionescu's tremendous performance Wednesday night aligned more closely with the output fans of the W expected from her all along. She went six-for-10 from beyond the arc, showcasing her trademark step-back in addition to various other skills from her comprehensive toolset throughout the night.</p><p>The 5-foot-11 sharpshooter has been primed to be a star for many years and was arguably the most highly-anticipated WNBA prospect since Stewart joined the league in 2016. In her four years playing for the Ducks, Ionescu became the NCAA's all-time leader in career triple-doubles and the only Division I player — man or woman — to log 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds over the course of their career.</p><p>Ionescu's utter dominance at the college level drew attention from some of the biggest stars in the game, including late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his basketball-loving daughter, Gigi. The Oregon star built a relationship with both Kobe and Gigi as she stepped into the national spotlight, and when the father-daughter duo tragically died in a helicopter accident along with seven others back in January, Ionescu spoke at their memorial.</p><p>Many fans saw the Black Mamba's influence reflected in the Liberty rookie's breakout performance on Wednesday night.</p><p>Though Ionescu has the potential to be a leading figure in the league for years to come, her Liberty team still has lots of room for improvement. They lost their opening-night matchup with the Storm by 16 points and their Wednesday-night game against a young Wings roster by 13 points.</p><p>"That part still isn't up to my standard, our standard as a team and an organization," Ionescu said. "We're still getting used to each other. We're still a new team, a brand new team with a lot of new faces, so it's just gonna take some growing pains."</p><p>New York will return to the floor Friday at 7 p.m. to face the Atlanta Dream before battling Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday afternoon.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/ted-cruz-tomi-lahren-kelly-loeffler-blast-wnba-anthem-protests-2020-7">Ted Cruz, Kelly Loeffler, and other conservatives are blasting the WNBA after teams walked off the court before the national anthem</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/olympics-postponement-response-from-7-of-team-usas-star-athletes-2020-7">The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to be this week. Here's how 7 big names from Team USA are training and spending their free time.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-paige-bueckers-gatorade-athlete-of-year-sue-bird-2020-7">Paige Bueckers — UConn basketball's next big star — is the 2020 Gatorade Athlete of the Year</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-elena-delle-donne-medical-opt-out-rejected-no-pay-2020-7">The WNBA won't pay its top star to sit out despite a note from her doctor suggesting she avoid the 'bubble'</a></li></ul>

Sabrina Ionescu looks like the superstar we were promised just two games into her WNBA career

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> is more popular than ever. During any game, Twitter is overtaken by complaints about the league's steaming platform.</li><li><a href="https://leaguepass.wnba.com/">WNBA League Pass</a> has myriad problems that frustrate even the most ardent fans. </li><li>Highlights reels often favor white players, while the announcer regularly mispronounces players' names.</li></ul><p>The WNBA is in its 25th season and more people are watching than ever. </p><p>But fans say that <a href="https://leaguepass.wnba.com/">WNBA League Pass</a> - the WNBA's streaming platform and app - is not doing the sport any favors.</p><p>Local games are blacked out so that, without a cable subscription, such that fans in New England, for example, can't watch the Connecticut Sun. Users have to repeatedly sign in to use the platform, sometimes multiple times per game, and can't be logged in on more than one device at a time. So, if someone logs in on their phone to check a score, it will log them out on their AppleTV app.</p><p>The volume of the highlight packages played during commercial breaks is so poorly balanced that it's 10 times louder than the broadcast itself. And the highlights don't automatically update, so - for first month of the season - fans were stuck watching the same few highlights. Those clips <a href="https://twitter.com/MsPeters14/status/1400974266267574275">heavily</a> featured New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, a white player, reinforcing the league and the media's tendency to <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/COVID19-OpEds/2021/05/24-IsardMelton.aspx?hl=risa+isard&amp;sc=0sc=0">over-promote white players</a> at the expense of the Black players, who make up the majority of the WNBA. </p><p>During any game, Twitter is overtaken by complaints about the platform. </p><p>"Hey<a href="https://twitter.com/WNBA"> @WNBA</a> your league pass audio levels are a hot mess," a Minnesota Lynx fan account <a href="https://twitter.com/Lynx_Dynasty/status/1411511335159054337">tweeted</a> on July 3. "Every commercial break is twice as loud as the game.  This has been an issue since the season started over a month ago."</p><p>"Between the Sabrina highlights and the jersey reveal, WNBA League Pass I am tired," another user <a href="https://twitter.com/JasTayler/status/1398800947179106306">said</a>. "I can recite it at this point."</p><p>"I shouldn't need a subscription to Amazon Prime, CBS <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">Sports</keyword>, Bally Sports, and whoever else to watch all the games 'in my region,'" a fan from Houston told Insider.</p><p>For anyone who cares about the W<keyword id="6361805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword>, which has long fought against sexism to be seen as more than playing second fiddle to the men in the NBA<strong>,</strong> the problems that plague League Pass speak to a larger issue. The league is exciting, the players are fun, and the quality of play is superb; there are a lot of reasons to love this league, but you wouldn't always know it based on the way it is promoted and supported.</p><p>This season, which runs from May to September, over 100 games will be nationally televised-the most in league history. For the first five games aired on ESPN this year, viewership was <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNPR/status/1397610557470126088">up 74% over 2020</a> and up 45% from 2019, while, on ABC, numbers <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNPR/status/1402353163613708288">are up 28% from last year</a>.</p><div type="image" title="A basketball player stands open-mouthed as players stand to her either side." height="2665" width="3995" msid="84296075" hostid="261"></div><p>The remaining games, which are not airing on a national platform, are available on League Pass, which costs $16.99 for the season.</p><p>Just before the start of the season, League Pass relaunched a huge redesign: fans could watch up to four games at once, statistics appeared on the screen, and there was a library of games going back to 2015.</p><p>But the overhaul failed to address several key user experience issues, including volume balance. </p><p>There's also evidence of sloppiness: The version of the app that runs on AppleTV app displays a lot of the old <a href="https://fontmeme.com/wnba-logo-font/">Cyclone font branding</a> and even <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/new-seattle-storm-logo-2021-mural-social-justice-180050474.html">the old Seattle Storm logo</a> - both of which have <a href="https://helenemarian.com/filter/type-design/WNBA">been retired by the league</a>. "Things like that, which are as simple as an artwork asset swap before an update, feel like sloppy oversights," said Eric Schwarz, an Indiana Fever fan from Indianapolis.</p><p>When Schwarz complained to customer support about the volume issue, the response was less than satisfying: "We ask to please bring the volume to low when the game is about to go on break."</p><p>For a sport that is desperately trying to grow the game and garner the respect it deserves, the quality of League Pass is a glaring oversight.</p><p>"The fact that nothing gets fixed, how do you expect to keep your new fans if every time they watch League Pass they are locked out, their screen goes black, they get signed out, or they have an issue where they can't watch the games?" WNBA writer Drew Ivery said on a recent episode of the <a href="https://theleadsm.com/podcast/leading-with-the-w-all-star-redo/"><em>Leading With The W</em> podcast</a>. "If I were a new consumer, it would be hard to keep me."</p><div type="image" title="Two basketball players wear black t-shirts that read, respectively, &quot;Say her Name&quot; above a picture of Breonna Taylor, and &quot;Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.&quot;" height="3181" width="4771" msid="84296079" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://warnermediaforbrands.com/brands/turner-sports">On its website</a>, Turner Sports - which owns NBA Media Ventures and League Pass, and is a division of WarnerMedia and AT&amp;T - says it is "giving fans the best content and experiences on the best platforms in sports." </p><p>"WNBA League Pass is an integral part of the WNBA's multimedia landscape," Phil Cook, WNBA Chief Marketing Officer, told Insider. "As it relates to our digital footprint, we have a longer-term road map to transform our digital offerings and to continuously improve the fan experience." </p><p>The league declined to answer specific questions about who is responsible for managing League Pass and addressing user issues, or how large the team who works on the platform is. A source within the league acknowledged that the league is aware that "the commercial break highlight experience could be improved" and also said the WNBA is working "with the appropriate resources" to create more highlights and to fix audio issues.</p><p>The viewing experience is so bad that some fans said they've stopped watching games that air on League Pass - or they'll wait until the games are available on-demand.</p><p>"I have a disorder that comes with a sensitivity to sound, so if I have a game on and I don't get to the remote in time, I get overstimulated and overwhelmed pretty much immediately when those loud commercials come on," said Christine Salek, a freelance sports writer. "This season especially, if I see a game is on League Pass, it's gotten to the point that I'll just not watch. It ruins the experience for me to have to be on alert at all times just to watch a game unscathed."</p><p>And it's not just that the highlight packages are too loud; they're also incredibly repetitive.</p><p>For the first month after the season kicked off on May 14, fans were subjected to the same few clips over and over again, all from the first two weeks of the season. Fans that wanted to relive the <a href="https://uproxx.com/dimemag/wnba-buzzer-beater-2021-ionescu-taurasi-loyd-ogunbowale/">six buzzer beaters in the first</a> month of the season were left watching multiple clips that focused on a single player, Ionescu.</p><div type="image" title="A basketball player hold the ball over her head as another player reaches out her arm to block her." height="3058" width="4587" msid="84296083" hostid="261"></div><p>This might have simply been frustrating, but Black players are routinely promoted and written about at a lower rate than their white teammates. According to an analysis <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/COVID19-OpEds/2021/05/24-IsardMelton.aspx?hl=wnba&amp;sc=0sc=0">published</a> in May in the Sports Business Journal, Black WNBA players won 80% of postseason awards, including Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year, and make up 80% of the league. Yet the three players most mentioned in media coverage are all white. </p><p>After the first month, League Pass did switch up the highlight packages, featuring a much larger and more diverse range of players, but the same package <a href="https://twitter.com/spencernusbaum_/status/1401686315591208962">plays back-to-back</a>.</p><p>The announcer who reads League Pass' "Top 5" countdowns regularly mispronounces the players names-one recent clip bungled the names of both the Dallas Wings' Satou Sabally <em>and</em> the New York Liberty's Betnijah Laney. It's bad enough when <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ykzy/wnba-broadcasters-announcers-mispronouncing-players-names">the mispronunciations come from broadcasters</a>; it's even worse when it's happening on the league's own streaming platform.</p><p>Despite the major user experience issues on the streaming platform, there are a lot of things fans like about the service. The flat rate of $16.99 is a huge selling point, making it accessible to more fans. </p><p>Fans and media members are doing what they can to make sure League Pass is available to the ever-growing fanbase. Subscriptions to <a href="https://thenext.substack.com/">The Next</a>, an independent newsroom dedicated exclusively to women's <keyword id="36237" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball">basketball</keyword>, comes with a League Pass subscription. </p><div type="image" title="One basketball player is seen diving over another as she holds the ball." height="2665" width="3995" msid="84296085" hostid="261"></div><p>Terrika Foster-Brasby, the espnW <em>Around the Rim</em> podcast host, teamed up with Alexis Robinson, the owner of One Brand Agency, on a "pay it forward" campaign to give away League Pass subscriptions to fans who couldn't afford it. As <a href="https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2021/05/feel-good-friday-espns-terrika-foster-brasby-and-the-wnba-league-pass/">Foster-Brasby told ESPN</a> in May, "people find it hard to find or access the games" and "would watch more WNBA if they knew where the games were airing." In the end, they gave away over 350 subscriptions.</p><p>Some fans mentioned they'd be willing to pay more for a better quality app, or other features like a way to stream games on AT&amp;T U-Verse, like they can for NBA games, or on other apps or consoles like X-Box, Roku, or Firestick-which NBA League Pass is also compatible with, and would make it easier for fans to watch the games on a TV rather than a computer or tablet.</p><p>"The WNBA could definitely attract more eyes if they made it easier on us," Travis Ostrander, an Indiana Fever fan living in North Carolina. "Furthermore, I'd be able to entice friends to watch if I just had it on the TV during game nights or cookouts."</p><p>At this point in the league's existence, fans are ready for more.</p><p>As Schwarz, the Indiana Fever fan, puts it: "I'm getting a little sick of the 'well, it's great they're being broadcast' attitude that some fans have. With the player name misspellings, mispronunciations, using the wrong photos, it just makes it seem like no one running the whole thing actually watches the games." </p><p>"And, it sucks being a fan who cares and I would hope the people getting paid also care."</p>

The WNBA is more popular than ever, but watching the games on League Pass is an absolute nightmare. 'It sucks being a fan'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11253977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="chiney-ogwumike">Chiney Ogwumike</keyword> created a documentary about the 2020 <keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> season that airs on ESPN Thursday night.</li><li> "144" captured players' commitment to both athletic brilliance and <keyword id="112438" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="social-justice">social justice</keyword> initiatives.</li><li>The WNBA and ESPN star told Insider about her work "amplifying the amazing work of women, period."</li></ul><p>Between her WNBA career and her work at ESPN, Chiney Ogwumike knows what it's like to be in front of the cameras.</p><p>But in her latest project, she's taking up a perch behind the lens.</p><p>The 29-year-old Los Angeles Sparks star and <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> television commentator is the executive producer of "144," an upcoming documentary that captures the successes and struggles that WNBA players encountered throughout the 2020 season, on and off the court.</p><div type="image" title="16x9_1280x720_tunein" height="640" width="1280" msid="82619114" hostid="261"></div><p>"I feel personally responsible making sure these women - the players - are seen as they deserve to be seen," Ogwumike told Insider. "Because I know exactly what they experienced and go through in the fight for respect."</p><h2>The film - which premieres on ESPN Thursday - offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the bubble</h2><p>Last summer, 144 WNBA players made their way to Bradenton, Florida for a WNBA season unlike any other. And amidst the heated battle for the 2020 WNBA title came a slew of challenges when they stepped off the hardwood.</p><p>Players devoted their season to Breonna Taylor and the Say Her Name campaign while continuously "moving the needle forward" on various <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-deserve-recognition-on-off-court-warnock-loeffler-georgia-2021-1">social justice and political efforts.</a> Those included spearheading a voting campaign and <a href="https://www.insider.com/loeffler-wnba-effort-warnock-georgia-impacted-american-republic-future-2021-1">endorsing the opponent of one of their team owners</a> in a decisive US Senate race.</p><div type="image" title="wnba" height="1669" width="2226" msid="82619121" hostid="261"></div><p>They spoke to political leaders and the families of <keyword id="53374" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Police-Brutality">police brutality</keyword> victims to inform their next moves. Some of them were parenting their children - either in-person or long-distance - throughout the months-long season. And they did it all from inside a bubble as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on those who were outside.</p><p>"We knew this moment was unparalleled in our country - pandemic and social justice movement," Ogwumike said. "You may not know every WNBA player, but look what they did together through adversity every day. Since we got the green light [to make the film], my goal has been to make sure that when the women watch this film, they feel like they're as important as every other person that has had this platform."</p><div type="image" title="wnba vote.JPG" height="1333" width="1777" msid="82619124" hostid="261"></div><p>It wasn't easy physically, but it was even harder mentally. And "144" showcased the significant emotional toll it took on players as they navigated it all.</p><p>"I would hope that whoever watches it does not think that athletes are just invincible; they're human beings first and foremost," Ogwumike said. "And especially as women, our challenges are different - and nonetheless we overcome."</p><p>"My goal is to help amplify everything that women are doing because, in our business, representation really matters," she added. "Once you're in the room, you can share a perspective that normally does not get prioritized. Every time I step to a mic, it's about amplifying the amazing work of women, period, because I know that it's not the norm."</p><h2>'144' offers insight into the players' decision to boycott after the police shooting of Jacob Blake</h2><p>One of the most poignant moments in the documentary came after the police shooting of Blake, which took place midway through the season. Blake - a 29-year-old Black man - was left paralyzed after a white officer shot him seven times in the back outside a Kenosha, Wisconsin, apartment complex.</p><div type="image" title="wnba" height="1660" width="2214" msid="82619129" hostid="261"></div><p>The incident came just three months and a few hundred miles removed from the murder of George Floyd who died after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd's death sparked a nationwide reckoning with race relations and police brutality, and Blake's death rekindled the fire.</p><p>The NBA's <a href="https://www.insider.com/milwaukee-bucks-protest-playoff-game-after-jacob-blake-police-shooting-2020-8">Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court</a> in protest following a video of Blake's shooting going viral. <a href="https://www.insider.com/rockets-thunder-lakers-trail-blazers-boycott-playoffs-jacob-blake-2020-8">Four other NBA teams followed suit</a>, and much of the American sports world <a href="https://www.insider.com/brewers-sit-out-wednesday-game-reds-jacob-blake-shooting-2020-8">joined in on boycotts</a> from there.</p><p>Despite earning far less money and shouldering far more risk than their male counterparts, WNBA players showed <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-games-postponed-solidarity-with-nba-against-police-brutality-2020-8">"solidarity with our brothers in the NBA"</a> by forcing the cancellation of games. But by nature of being women in sports, additional considerations and complications involving money and exposure came into play.</p><div type="image" title="wnba jacob blake strike" height="1666" width="2223" msid="82619130" hostid="261"></div><p>"144" features never-before-seen footage of a players-only meeting that underscored these undue burdens placed on WNBA players in that decisive moment.</p><p>"Not only are we athletes and activists, but also Black women in our communities that have to hold our families together," Ogwumike said. "And so it's ingrained within our DNA as women. And I think that's heightened, especially in the WNBA."</p><p>Although most felt compelled to act in the wake of yet another instance of police brutality, money was necessarily a factor weighing on many. Washington Mystics guard Leilani Mitchell questioned whether players would "be fine to pay your mortgage" if ESPN pulled WNBA games off the network and left the league without a platform. Dallas Wings sophomore Satou Sabally questioned whether or not players would be prepared to cancel their entire season if the NBA did it first. Atlanta Dream star Courtney Williams spoke of her need to provide financial support to loved ones back home because "people eat off me."</p><div type="image" title="courtney williams" height="1364" width="1820" msid="82619131" hostid="261"></div><p>Even still, the 144 players competing in the WNBA's bubble showed universal solidarity with the boycott and subsequent collective action.</p><p>"The solidarity we have is because we know that there's too much at stake - that's inherent in the nature of who the WNBA player is," Ogwumike said. "You can isolate one or two people for their own individual opinions, but if we stand together, we're moving the needle forward. Even though it may not be what everyone individually agrees with, we're still moving forward, you know?"</p><p>"And that's what the film shows in real-time," she added.</p><div type="image" title="wnba players 144" height="1080" width="1920" msid="82619132" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>Ogwumike says the WNBA's on and off-court momentum will carry over into 2021 - even without a bubble keeping players together</strong></h2><p>Though Ogwumike wasn't in Bradenton and didn't play during the WNBA's 2020 campaign, she is intimately familiar with everything inside the bubble.</p><p>"I was connecting with players on the ground each and every day so that our camera crew would have access," Ogwumike said. "Like calling [Aces star] Dearica Hamby and saying 'Hey girl, can our camera crew follow you and Amaya [Hamby's daughter] after practice as you hang out?' That's what I was doing on a day to day."</p><div type="image" title="ESPNFILMS_144_15" height="1080" width="1440" msid="82619133" hostid="261"></div><p>Ogwumike acknowledges that having 144 athletes in one place helped push forward the players' collective efforts, but she still has confidence in her and her colleagues' ability to coordinate. Though there will be miles of separation between teams and players throughout the 2021 season, Ogwumike noted that the league's athletes are constantly engaging from a distance while playing abroad during the WNBA offseason.</p><p>"While that moment of solidarity [in the bubble] was so special, this is a league that is, has understood how to stay together while its players are all over the world," she said. "We did the CBA negotiation with one of our executive committee members in Turkey, another one did China, another one in Europe, and I'm in the U.S. We were all over the world, but we stay on the same page through communication and activation and mobilization."</p><div type="image" title="wnba breonna taylor" height="1666" width="2222" msid="82619134" hostid="261"></div><p>"That's one thing about the W, and that's why [the documentary is] called '144,'" Ogwumike added. "It's a small number, but a very powerful group that everyone engages at a high level... even though we may not be together, you'll see us on our home courts, all pushing the same message in our own communities. And so the energy will be continued."</p><p>"144" premieres at 9 p.m. ET Thursday night on ESPN. Just one day later, the 2021 WNBA season tips off with a game between the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever airing on NBA TV at 7 p.m.</p>

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