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Playa Society’s WNBA Black History Month shirt carries special meaning

Esther Wallace, Founder and Designer of Playa Society, models the new Black History Month-inspired T-shirt. (Courtesy of Playa Society)

Playa Society, as part of its ongoing collaboration with the WNBA, has dropped a special edition T-Shirt celebrating Black History Month.

The shirt features a design that reads “WNBA Black History Every Game” and is available for purchase on Playa Society’s website.

“The thing about Black History Month is that it should never be reduced to just one month in general, and that’s never the approach that I would take to designing anything for Black History Month,” Esther Wallace, Founder and Designer of Playa Society, tells Just Women’s Sports.

For Wallace, a former Division I and professional basketball player, the February collaboration is a chance for her to honor and applaud the athletes of the WNBA.

“Eighty percent of the players are Black women,” she says. “That’s something we want to talk about and celebrate all the time because it’s so important for girls like me to see that representation and, even beyond that, for just the world in general to see that and to celebrate it.

“That’s really to me what the WNBA represents. Every single time that I watch a WNBA game, I feel like in so many different ways and so many little ways and sometimes in big ways, the players on the court are contributing to the progression of Black women, of the Black community, of women’s sports.”

WNBA players have been an integral part of Wallace’s success as a designer, supporting her before Playa Society officially launched. Wallace’s Female Athlete” collection quickly took off in 2018, thanks in large part to players like Elena Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker and Sue Bird wearing the T-shirt from the beginning.

The graphic tee features the phrase with a line drawn through the world “Female.” Wallace’s own experience playing basketball at Fairleigh Dickinson and overseas inspired her to create a product dedicated to equality for women in sports.

“Every player who represented the brand early made a huge difference because honestly, as a solo entrepreneur starting out on a new venture in a space that is not well-supported, as a Black woman entrepreneur, we often don’t receive the support and resources that we need,” she says. “So any support that I got from WNBA players and professional athletes meant the world to me.”

The encouragement Wallace received from WNBA stars helped her push through the challenges of early entrepreneurship and gave her the confidence to build Playa Society around the success of the “Female Athlete” shirt.

“There were times when I had conversations with myself internally, like, ‘Candace Parker believes in this. You have to keep going,'” she says.

Wallace is now hoping to pay that support forward, using her latest collaboration to give back to other creators and entrepreneurs.

A percentage of proceeds from the “WNBA Black History Every Game” T-shirt will be donated to Black Girl Ventures, an organization that provides Black and Brown woman-identifying founders with access to the resources needed to build their businesses.

“As a Black woman entrepreneur, supporting Black women-owned businesses and ventures is really important to me,” Wallace says. “It’s full circle to be able to deliver this specific project that shines a light on Black players in the league, while also paying it forward to uplift other Black women in business.”

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(Courtesy of Playa Society)

While Wallace says the WNBA’s influence is still untapped in many ways, the athletes of the league have become prominent cultural figures and fashion icons.

Liz Cambage, Arike Ogunbowale, Diamond DeShields and Kahleah Copper are just a few players currently on Wallace’s mood board. Wallace is not alone in her reverence for the athletes’ style, with their pregame looks making a splash on social media and underscoring their uniqueness and effortless swagger, qualities innate to the WNBA.

“The thing about fashion and style is that it such a form of self-expression, and I feel like for a group of women that aren’t often heard, they’re using that as just their form of communicating and expressing themselves,” Wallace says. “I think that is so dope for them to be able to use fashion in that way.”

Wallace is building Playa Society into another avenue for fashion and women’s sports to intersect, with WNBA athletes leading the way.

“What I want to do with Playa Society is to be able to iconize them,” she says.

Clare Brennan is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

USC’s Aaliyah Gayles Opens Up About Her Journey Back to Basketball

USC Basketball - Aaliyah Gayles

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate Aaliyah Gayles. Here are five things to know from our conversation with the redshirt freshman guard from Las Vegas.

#1 Aaliyah suffered from a near-death act of violence in 2022.

The incident taught her a lot about herself and the support around her. “[USC] Coach Lindsay [Gottlieb] was one of the first people to fly out there and come see me. That means a lot to me off the court.” 

#2 Her favorite USC memory is when she surprised her teammates after getting out of the hospital.

She left her walker at the door to show she was on the road to returning to the court. “That was my favorite memory because it was family. It was my first time being able to walk to you guys and see you practice.”

#3 There's a reason she wears #3.

#3 was her grandpa’s favorite number and a golden number in her life. Plus, AG3 has a nice ring to it. 

#4 She has a list of basketball GOAT’s:

Candace Parker, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Cason Wallace.

#5 There have been many celebrity appearances at USC’s games over the years, especially this season.

Aaliyah’s favorites include Will Ferrell, Kehlani, and Saweetie. And she hopes Lil Durk will come to watch a game soon.

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Gotham, USWNT forward Midge Purce out with ACL tear

(Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

Midge Purce announced on Wednesday that she has torn her ACL. 

The Gotham FC and USWNT forward went down with the injury on Sunday during Gotham’s 1-0 win after tweaking it earlier in the game. Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós did not have any immediate updates following the match, with further evaluation revealing the tear. 

“It’s a reality I’m still struggling with and has left me with not too much to say,” Purce wrote in a statement on social media. “I’m heartbroken to no longer be available for my season with Gotham FC or for Olympic selection with the USWNT – know I’m rooting for you both all year long. 

“Though you may not see it, I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field.”

Purce is just the latest women's soccer star to tear her ACL, and joins USWNT teammate Mia Fishel in having torn her ACL in the last couple of months. Other notable players include Catarina Macario and Christen Press, with Macario only just returning to the USWNT lineup after tearing hers in 2022. 

International stars such as Alexia Putellas, Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Leah Williamson have also suffered ACL tears. 

Purce’s injury caused Amorós to call out the international schedule, which has been a growing point of concern as more players fall victim to injuries and the playing schedule becomes more packed. Kansas City’s Debinha suffered a hamstring injury in the team’s opening game, while both Lynn Williams and Rose Lavelle have yet to play for Gotham due to injuries picked up during the W Gold Cup. 

“We lost Midge during the game which for me is a bittersweet flavor,” Amorós told reporters after Sunday’s game. “By the way, it’s another player that came from the Gold Cup. Last week, it was Debinha. We are paying the consequences of a tournament that shouldn’t have happened.”

“We’re talking about protecting the players, [who shouldn’t] go to play an international competition after one week of preseason,” Amorós continued. “We’ve seen the consequences now. We’ve got Rose, Lynn, last week it was Debinha in Kansas [City] and now we have Midge. From my experience, the clubs are going to keep paying for that competition."

In her statement, Purce said that “so many friends, teammates and even players I’ve only ever competed against” reached out to offer support. 

“I am so blessed,” she wrote. “Your messages have meant so much to me throughout this process, you have consoled what, for a moment, felt inconsolable. Thank you for reminding me that our football world is not only full with incredibly talent but also, incredible kindness.”

Lauren Jackson included on Australia Olympics roster

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 01: Lauren Jackson of Australia celebrates with team mates after playing her final Opals game during the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 3rd place match between Canada and Australia at Sydney Superdome, on October 01, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Lauren Jackson has come out of retirement once again to compete for a spot on Australia’s Olympic roster. 

Jackson was included on the 26-player roster named by coach Sandy Brondello on Tuesday that will take part in training camps, tours and games in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics. The roster will eventually be whittled down to just 12 players selected from the 26 named on Tuesday.

Jackson helped Australia qualify for the Olympics with a win over Germany in February. After that, she announced her retirement, revealing that she struggled to spend so much time away from her two young children. 

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported that Jackson and the basketball federation had come to an agreement in which they would help cover costs for her children to travel with the team for training camps and the Olympics. 

She’s largely expected to make the Opals’ Olympic roster. 

"It's always an exciting time to announce an Olympic squad and I congratulate all the athletes," Opals coach Sandy Brondello said. "They all know what it means to play for Australia and they all want the opportunity to represent their country at an Olympics. Our squad is full of exceptional talent and they will make the decision to pick a final 12 very difficult."

At the 2022 FIBA World Cup, Jackson helped Australia win a bronze medal with 30 points against Canada. She had previously retired in 2016 due to knee injuries, but slowly made a return in a domestic Australian league the last few years.

Jackson has won four Olympic medals, including three consecutive silver medals starting with Sydney in 2000 when she was a teenager. 

First two rounds of NCAA tournament boast record attendance, viewership

(David K Purdy/Getty Images)

The first two rounds of the women’s NCAA tournament broke attendance and viewership records set just last year – and it wasn’t even close. 

The NCAA announced on Tuesday that attendance for the first two rounds of the tournament was more than 292,000 – up from last year’s record, when almost 232,000 fans attended the first two rounds.

Among the host sites, Iowa had the biggest crowds with nearly 29,000 fans packing Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the first and second rounds. 

"We expected the historic success and quality of play and high level of competition from the regular season would carry through into March Madness. Our championship is again delivering," NCAA vice president of women's basketball Lynn Holzman said in a statement. "Record crowds, ratings, incredible performances and evolving storylines will continue to make the next two weeks a must-see for fans across the world."

And for those that couldn’t attend the sold-out Iowa games, they watched on television. Monday’s matchup between Iowa and West Virginia drew 4.9 million viewers, setting a record for a women’s D-I tournament game prior to the Final Four. 

It is also the third most watched tournament game in the last 20 years, behind last year’s national championship between LSU and Iowa (9.92 million) and Iowa’s Final Four win over South Carolina (5.6 million).

Iowa’s game against Holy Cross in the first round drew 3.23 million viewers. 

But it wasn’t just Iowa drawing big viewership. ESPN’s five games on Monday averaged 2.25 million viewers. UConn and Syracuse drew 2.05 million viewers while LSU and Middle Tennessee on ABC drew 2.01 million viewers on Sunday. 

The full, 16-game slate for the second round averaged 1.4 million viewers – a 121% increase from last year and the highest average ever for the second round.

The full tournament so far is averaging 812,000 viewers per game, a 108% increase from last year.

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