Even though it resulted in the Sky’s fifth consecutive loss, the game Thursday against the Mystics was a celebration.
It was the Sky’s annual Pride game, which gave them a chance to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and to acknowledge the growth of the WNBA in the last 27 years to a place of honoring the players and coaches who make up the league and their authenticity.
‘‘There’s even a difference from when I entered the league to now,’’ Sky forward Elizabeth Williams said. ‘‘I think about how people dressed at the draft [in 2015], and a lot of people were more traditional, wearing dresses. Now you see a mix of suits, jumpsuits, dresses and everyone feeling more comfortable in doing that.
‘‘In the past, that wasn’t the case. It’s definitely been player-led.’’
In 2014, the WNBA became the first U.S. pro sports league to acknowledge Pride as an initiative each June. The decision was announced by former league president Laurel J. Richie.
While the WNBA has been an unquestioned leader in terms of human-rights issues, some have thought it hasn’t always acknowledged the LGBTQ+ community.
But in the face of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping the country, the WNBA’s support and celebration of Pride in June and beyond has made an impact, sparking a change in politics and providing a space that feels genuinely protected.
‘‘Everything feels super-divisive, but the whole point of Pride is the opposite of that,’’ Williams said. ‘‘People should just feel comfortable in spaces. People shouldn’t feel like they can’t go somewhere just to be who they are. So I think in that sense we have to remind people that’s the goal of Pride. The whole point isn’t to divide people.’’
Williams is the secretary of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, one of the most influential players’ unions in pro sports. Its efforts have affected elections and communities across the country and directly influenced the efforts to secure Brittney Griner’s safe return to the United States after her wrongful detention in Russia. The WNBA’s players long have juggled dual roles as pro athletes and activists.
‘‘Some of it is us having pride in speaking up on issues and doing that consistently,’’ Williams said. ‘‘Sometimes it wears on you a little bit more, but I think we can rely on each other. I think about [Griner] and the support she’s had from other teams in the league when it comes to the Bring Our Families Home campaign. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to feel like you have to take on all of it. It’s a collective.’’
The WNBA already has carried out multiple initiatives celebrating Pride in June and will continue to do so through next week. Those initiatives include programs that highlight players and coaches and an exclusive line of Pride T-shirts. The proceeds of each T-shirt sold will be donated to Athlete Ally, an organization advocating for equality in sports, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
‘‘It’s unfortunate that we have to have a league that gives visuals for how the world should be,’’ Sky coach/general manager James Wade said. ‘‘We are big in every sense of the word at showing how people should have representation and a place in this world where they’re at home, where they’re looked at as being who they are. They should be proud of that.’’
