From the beginning of their more than two decades on the court, the players in the W.N.B.A. have defied society’s expectations.
Sheryl Swoopes, a marquee founding member of the league, found out she was pregnant just before the league’s inaugural season in 1997 — and started playing six weeks after giving birth, setting a precedent for many female athletes who didn’t want to put their careers on hold to have children.
Then, in 2005, Swoopes became one of the highest-profile active athletes to that point to come out as a lesbian. She didn’t think the announcement was a big deal at the time.
But, she said, “I still get messages from people saying, ‘You saved my life,’ from parents saying, ‘Thank you for helping me understand my child.’”.