Nneka Ogwumike Offers Powerful Thoughts on Diversity, Change in WNBA at White House

The athlete recently attended the first celebration of Black women in sports in D.C.

Nneka Ogwumike / Catalina Fragoso/Getty Images

The WNBA is currently on a month-long break, and Nneka Ogwumike is making the most of it.

In addition to getting in some well-deserved rest and relaxation time, the Seattle Storm forward has been using the time to continue her mission of promoting diversity in the league and women’s sports more generally. To that end, the 34-year-old recently attended a Black women in sports event at the White House.

The event, hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement and Diverse Representation, included a panel of powerful Black women in the sports industry, including Ogwumike. There, she offered her thoughts on the increased diversity in the league. “Having a Black woman as an owner ... seeing that as a player, it makes me feel like something is happening. It makes me feel like change is happening,” she stated. “It makes me feel like there’s intentionality behind the investment.”

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As the president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), Ogwumike is one of the leading voices in the league. She’s using that platform to effect change—to continue to promote diversity and inclusion in her chosen sport and beyond. “To be a Black woman in sport is to be UNDENIABLE,” she wrote on Instagram following the event. “Let’s celebrate ourselves as we continue to define history, culture, and change!”

The athlete will put her Storm uniform back on and take to the court again on Aug. 16 for the second half of her debut season with the Seattle squad.