On Feb. 5, ESPN The Magazine will release its “State of the Black Athlete” issue in honor of February being Black History Month. One of the features in that issue will be an interview conducted by Jemele Hill with Maya Moore who this past week was announced will be leaving “The Six” to do more work with The Undefeated.
Also included is a piece from the Connecticut Sun’s Chiney Ogwumike. Her letter mentioned her and her sister’s competitiveness growing up and how they made it from humble beginnings in Houston to the ranks of the WNBA.
She also mentioned how one would think because of her and Nneka’s Nigerian heritage that they would have parents that would have instilled in them the importance of obtaining a position as a lawyer or doctor after college. But for the Ogwumikes, basketball has always been the goal.
Sports were viewed as a distraction, especially for girls.
In mentioning her parents…
They were teaching us that no matter what you do in life, do it to the best of your ability. And they were allowing us to inhabit another identity – they were letting us be American girls.
I’m a Nigerian-American, which I consider the best of both worlds. I work like my parents and dream like my sisters. I was raised to defy expectations.
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
