In the year It was January 1997. Cheryl Swoopes was at the peak of her career. In the year She won Olympic gold in 1996 and was set to play in her first WNBA regular season. Then she received news that would change her life. She was pregnant.
There was no playbook back then on what to do. “How can this be?” Swoopes said in her 2013 documentary.
Will she still have a job that summer? Is her acting career over? What comes next? All the questions that women fear in one way or another, not just in basketball, but in becoming a mother.
She eventually told her agency, team and the WNBA, all of whom helped her through that journey.
“Until then, I don’t know if anyone thought this was possible [Sheryl] He did,” Houston teammate Tina Thompson discussed in the. Swoops ESPN Documentary. Once she did, it became very common.
” day [Sheryl] It was a big thing to come back.” Swoops Director Hannah Storm also shared. Atlantic In the year In 2013, “Nobody’s ever done that before—especially in a team sport.”
Sherrill returned to the court five weeks after giving birth and helped the Comets to their first WNBA championship that year (the first of four consecutive titles in the coming years).
She created the book for Future League Play, filled with dynamic women who dream of a career and a family.
WSLAM 2 is out now featuring Napheesa Collier and Dearica Hamby.
Do you remember the first time you realized your mom was a superpower? When you’re young, it’s hard to truly understand how much our mothers do for us. As they get a little older, teenage angst starts to creep in and cloud our ability to see any reason. And when you grow up, you start to understand how much our mothers sacrifice for us.
I remember I was always my father’s boy. I love basketball and I used to play many sports. He bonded me and my father. I didn’t think it was fair to the woman who carried me for nine months to be my father’s son, but as I got older I began to understand exactly how much she meant to me. I learned about her most difficult times. I realized there were things I never knew existed and I began to understand her personal struggles while doing what she could for me. It’s what mothers do.
They make you practice, stay to make dinner, check your schoolwork, teach you life lessons, and do everything they can to protect you from the world. All while dealing with their own lives. Grab it when it seems impossible.
Consider balancing all of these things more than being a professional athlete. A job that once felt impossible to maintain after becoming a mother.
Twenty-six years after Swoopes gave birth to her son, Jordan, there are two young mothers in the WNBA who Sherrill has set the stage for at various stages of motherhood.
Dearica Hamby is in her eighth WNBA season, mother of Amaya and two-time Sixth Player of the Year. Nafisa Collier, the 2019 Rookie of the Year, is currently in her fourth WNBA season and has a 1-month-old daughter, Mila.
At first unexpected two mothers on two journeys.
D’Arika averaged 6.1 points, 17 minutes per game in her first season, and was ready to prove herself in her sophomore year when she knew her life was about to change.
How am I going to play basketball? How do I tell my coaches? Diarica thought to herself after finding out she was pregnant.
“I was in my second year. I had a great first year until my injury. “I felt like I was back in redemption mode in my second year, and after I told my coaches and the organization what I expected, I knew I had to sit out,” she tells WSLAM.
Nafisa’s journey was a little different. She entered the league averaging 13 points per game and winning the ROY Award. Just after her third season ended, she took a test a few weeks late when a small plus sign appeared.
“I feel like I didn’t have a lot of emotions at first because it was so casual… I don’t know. It was a big deal,” says Nafisa. “When that happens, your life changes forever. So, just processing that. One of my first thoughts was: Well, at least at the beginning of next year’s season I won’t be able to play, so I have to call a coach.”
It is the exact thought process that led WNBPA President Nneka Ogumumike and the rest of the council to negotiate to maximize resources for the league mothers. Those new resources include full pay while on maternity leave, a new $5,000 annual childcare allowance, two-bedroom apartments for players with children, and workplace accommodations for nursing mothers, to name a few.
“I’m so grateful I came to the league, because it was right on the tail end of the new CBA, which gives new moms a lot of things we didn’t have before,” Collier says. “You get a lot of things that allow you to come back and be a working mom, and obviously the boys don’t have to worry.”
These changes were instrumental in encouraging the League’s women to pursue their dreams of careers and families. Dreams that society has doubted.
There is an archaic belief that women cannot be good mothers and top professionals. It’s a thought that has caused so much fear and anxiety in pregnancies like Cheryl’s in 1997, with P and D’Arika.
“I think because women are naturally nurturing and nurturing, and when they have a child, they want to give it all to the child. I think there’s a risk that if I’m emotionally invested in this, I can’t be emotionally invested in basketball. But that’s a lie,” says Hamby. “For me personally, I come to work.” , I work my job when I have to, then I come home and I’m a full-time mom. I can tell the difference between the two.
Get your copy of WSLAM 2 now!
The reality of working mothers goes beyond the hardwood. Beyoncé’s 2010 First child. Also note that she wore heels for her performance. Yet another example is that women really can do it all.
There are many questions that every woman faces before and after giving birth to a daughter. How often can I lift? Will my boss be okay if I want to take more time off? Will I still have my job when I return? One of the biggest questions on the minds of professional athletes is fear. Can I come back and play at the same level as before?
Pregnancy naturally changes a woman’s body dramatically. Weight changes, hormones increase, breast size changes, postpartum back pain to name a few. The road back is not easy, but not impossible.
“I gave birth to her. [Amaya] In the year February 5, which was three weeks before my first due date,” D’Arika recalls. “Those extra three weeks saved me and I was able to get in shape during the season.”
Returning to the court six weeks after giving birth, D’Arika came back better than ever. She averaged 9 ppg, solidifying her spot on the then-San Antonio All-Star roster, and has continued to elevate her game in the seasons since.
“The hardest part was training and thinking I’d be okay away from her. I took care of her, and when I left, I missed her so much,” says the Aces star. “When I was working out, like Okay, hurry up and do this hour and a half workout. I don’t think I changed my clothes in time. I was running back home to meet her. I wanted to hold her.
Her dedication to getting the job done has led to some of her best seasons and two Sixth Woman of the Year awards. Now she is in a Ligue 1 team, a team that looks like the favorite to win the championship.
Nafisa is just at the beginning of her comeback. Her daughter, Mila Sarah Basel, was born on May 25 this year, and after a few weeks off, she’s now looking forward to getting back on the floor.
“I plan to get closer to my return [with my] Feet hitting the ground, running, trying to get back as fast as I can,” Collier says. “Sylvia Falls in particular is one of my favorite people. I would love to play a couple games with her if I could. This is a short season so time is not on my side but I want to push my body as much as I can while staying healthy.
There is no doubt in our minds that Pye will come back better than ever. Cheryl showed us the blueprint, and since then Candace Parker, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Tiana Hawkins, Bria Hartley, Dewanna Bonner and many more have continued to inspire.
D’Arika is following their lead, and PE continues. It is a mother’s strength. These women have that little bit more.
“I really think it’s this mother. [thing] In my opinion, it elevates players after birth,” Hamby said. “People always tell you, I’m a different player than I was before I had Amaya. I think the strength and hunger and drive and heart that I play comes from just being born. You become a mother and it’s different.”
It takes a village to raise a child, and one of the most beautiful things about the WNBA is how supportive the 144 women are for them. To help them raise their children and be there for each other.
We see that with Amaya, her comic battles with the Aces’ Kelsey Plum, or her role as unofficial team mascot. Her mother and her friends (Hambi’s teammates) are always by her side with a jersey. It’s clear how special Amaya and Derica’s bond is, but even more so in the moments we don’t see.
“The teacher left me a message a few weeks ago and I happened to read it before the game, which was probably a bad idea, but she said, Amaya is very proud of you and talks about you. You should see the way you shine when the students ask about you” said D’Arika, tears slowly falling from her eyes. “Sometimes I think I’m struggling because I feel bad during the season and I’m not with her much. It meant a lot to her teacher to say that and send me.
It can be hard not to share as many mother-daughter moments as D’Arika would like, but 5-year-old Amaya loves that her mom is a WNBA superstar. She wants to see what she wants to be one day and even share that with her friends at school.
Now Nafisa has the same opportunity to share her favorite game with her new number 1 fan.
“I’m excited about the experiences we can have together,” says former Roy. “Obviously, I hope you like playing sports. But if she doesn’t, it’s great to see what she’s interested in. Does she want to play an instrument? What are you going to be? What is her desire? Maybe you’ll introduce me to new things I’ve never tried before.
That’s the beauty of motherhood. The journey, the unknown and the things you will find together for the first time.
For Dearica and Napheesa, it will not always be easy. There may be hard times and setbacks, but that doesn’t stop them from doing what they need to do to create a better life for their daughters. They keep it going through those stressful times and show their daughters that there is no limit to what a woman can do.
And to Mila and Amaya, you may not know it yet, but your moms are superheroes. Not just for you, but for women everywhere.
Nafisa Collier portraits by Lawrence Bryant, DeArika Hamby portraits by Alex Woodhouse // Action Photos by Getty Images.
Nafisa Hair: Cameron Myers, Makeup: Tara Lowry // Dirika Hair: Sabrina Jackson, Makeup: Heather Bates
