Ogwumike joins with political, music leaders
Flanked by her colleagues in the NBA and WNBA, L.A. Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike was again at the forefront of basketball’s social activism this week, when — on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis officer — the players’ unions for both pro basketball leagues are calling for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Among its proposals, the bill could ban chokeholds, as well as no-knock police raids like the one in Louisville, Kentucky, that killed Breonna Taylor, a Black front-line worker.
“We’ve been engaged as a union, and as players, when it comes to obviously our activism and bringing change to democracy as it pertains to Black lives in America,” Ogwumike said, via Zoom, after the Sparks’ practice Tuesday.
“And lately we’ve had a few Social Justice Council meetings addressing many things, including the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act ... there’s legislation that has to be made in order for things to get better, for some ounce of progress (related to) violence against Black people in America.”
Today, members of the WNBA players union’s Executive Committee and Board of Player representatives — of which Ogwumike is president — will hold a private legislative briefing with Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey) to learn more about the bill and related issues and potential solutions, she said.
“There’s a lot that we’re still trying to work though,
Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike is a leader in the push for the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act.
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you know?” Ogwumike said. “Whether it’s getting this act attention and for people to call their senators, continuing to stand with Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name.
“It takes education and we love to educate ourselves first,” she added, crediting the WNBPA staff for arranging the discussion with Booker, a former Stanford athlete like Ogwumike. “So getting information about us being able to understand what the act means and how we can use our platforms to engage with our communities ... we’re just looking forward to continuing on educating ourselves and really making the change that we want to see.”
Last summer, WNBA players helped influence political change by campaigning for the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who was the opponent of former senator Kelly Loeffler. Loeffler
at that time co-owned the Atlanta Dream and she criticized the league’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“It’s imperative for people to continue to engage outside of the fervor that we feel in election years,” Ogwumike said. “We have to constantly be aware of what’s going on, and I think that’s something that we’re really harping on. And I know Sen. Booker is really doing a good job of educating so that so we can be better citizens, too.”
Expect that Ogwumike will share some of what she’s learned on Friday’s episode (9:30 p.m.) of “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” LeBron James’ HBO show that features discussion between “some of the biggest names in sport and entertainment.”
She’ll be one of the guests when the show begins for its fourth season, along with James and Maverick Carter, as well as music icon and mogul JayZ; rapper and singer Bad Bunny and and marketing executive Paul Rivera.
Sparks coach Derek Fisher is a big fan of JayZ — and, of course, Oguwmike. He’s eager to watch the episode, he said.
“I think Nneka clearly is one of one in terms of how she’s begun and continues to transcend the WNBA and women’s basketball and being a female voice, per se, to just being a leader and activist and a change agent,” Fisher said. “So I think it’s fitting that she’s on the highest and biggest platforms that you could find out there because that’s where she belongs. I’m sure she will fit right in on ‘The Shop’ with rest of the guys and I’m looking forward to being able to catch the episode.”