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Leaders with the National Women’s Law Center and the Women’s National Basketball Player Association gathered in downtown Indianapolis for WNBA All-Star Weekend to discuss how to continue to fight for equality in and outside of the sport.
The panel, “Don’t Bench Our History,” was hosted Friday monring inside the players’ lounge at the Marriott Hotel. Panelists included Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, Terri Carmichael Jackson, executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Player Association, and Temi Fagbenle, a player on the Golden State Valkyries and part of WNBPA leadership.
The discussion was moderated by Shari Nycole, a host, producer and writer for Essence magazine.
The WNBPA is the players’ union that represents WNBA players. Last night, more than 40 WNBA players gathered for a meeting between the league and the WNBPA to discuss negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The meeting was the largest in-person player turnout for negotiations, ESPN reported. No resolution was reached.
In the midst of negotiation talks for better pay and improved working conditions, Friday’s panel centered on a common theme shared among the panelists: “courage is contagious,” a phrase coined early on in the discussion by NWLC CEO Graves.
Each of the panelists emphasized the need to be courageous in an culture where they face constant obstacles against diversity, equality and inclusion.
Jackson sang praises for WNBA players, including Fagbenle, who continue to give it their all, whether on the basketball court or in the fight against injustice.
“They come to it with their whole selves,” she said.
In addition to her career in basketball and advocacy work, Fagbenle has stepped into acting. She announced at the panel that she plays a role in the upcoming film adaptation of the 2018 young adult novel “Children of Blood and Bone,” starring Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo, and Idris Elba.
The book itself is the subject of challenges due to its themes of violence, social justice, and sexual content.
Fagneble, a fervent equality advocate in the WNBA, commented on how important storytelling is to make others feel included and seen in spaces they haven’t been before, saying it takes just one person to inspire another.
“Representation inspires,” Fagneble said.
The panelists emphasized that while All-Star Weekend is a time to celebrate women’s basketball and the good that’s come from it, it’s also a weekend of courage and continued activism to keep reaching for more.
The discussion concluded with commentary on how to unite a society that appears to be detrimentally divided by beliefs and ideologies.
Graves said that while authoritative leadership wants us to believe we’re vastly different, she believes we have more in common than we realize.
“I think we have to remind ourselves of a series of things that we know deep in our heart to be true, but people get confused by the rhetoric,” she said. “I’m going to keep rocking with, the majority of people in this country will continue to want a democracy and freedom.”
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