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Abby Dunkin Talks LGBTQ Advocacy and How Sports Helped Her Find Her Identity

USA’s Abigail Dunkin (L) and Desiree Miller (R) celebrates after defeating Germany in the gold medal match of the women’s wheelchair basketball of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 16, 2016. / AFP / Yasuyoshi Chiba (Photo credit should read YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Abby Dunkin is a wheelchair basketball player who won gold at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio as well as at the 2019 World Championships in Suphanburi, Thailand. Below, she spoke with Just Women’s Sports about her introduction to wheelchair basketball, the importance of athlete advocacy, and what comes next following her recent retirement from Team USA. 

What does it mean to you to openly be a member of the LGBTQ community in sports?

Sports, in general, give you this platform and this voice to be able to talk about stuff that’s going on in today’s society. In that sense, to be part of the LGBTQ community gives us a voice to show that love is love — no matter politics, religion, sexual orientation, or culture. To be able to share that as an athlete on this platform is pretty special. Especially since there are a ton of athletes who share a similar voice — who are also part of the LGBTQ community. It shows that we can be successful and we can be good at what we do, while also being part of the LGBTQ community.

Why do you think it’s so important for athletes to be vocal on social justice issues, especially as they relate to the LGBTQ community?

It’s definitely important for athletes who are LGBTQ to speak up. Like I said, it shows that we can be successful. We can do things, we can be happy in the way we live our lives. We are able to normalize it, in a way. Hopefully, one day, people in the LGBTQ community don’t have to come out. We don’t see straight people having to come out, so we should be treated the same. There has been movement and new laws, like the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year was a huge victory for LGBTQ employees. These things will guide the way so one day we won’t have to come out, we can just be who we are.

What has been the role of sports in helping you come into your identity?

For me, discovering wheelchair basketball was a huge turning point. I grew up in New Braunfels, Texas, so there was basically a church on every corner. I knew a few of my friends who were still in the closet and who had fears of coming out because everyone was so religious. Once I was able to, I went to the University of Texas and, during my freshman year, my teammates and friends pushed me in a positive way to come out of the closet. They said, “Hey, it’s okay. We accept you for who you are.” Being in that atmosphere with coaches who were so supportive and teammates who were so supportive made me feel like I could do it. So wheelchair basketball, for me at least, helped me to come out publicly and be okay with myself. And I was lucky to have loving family and friends who supported me. With basketball, it doesn’t matter who you love, who you play for, what your skin color is or who you vote for — it just matters that you can play ball.

What first drew you to wheelchair basketball?

I grew up playing standup basketball and then, in middle school, I had knee surgery for a torn meniscus. After the surgery, the pain never went away, even though I was physically healed. I was diagnosed with CRPS, or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. With CRPS, you’re in pain 24/7, even though there is no reason for it. I managed my pain until I was about 16 or 17 and then I realized that I had to do something — it was becoming too much. In 2013, I tried a number of treatments. I tried one treatment where they put electrodes on the outskirts of my chronic pain and I was hooked up to this machine for about an hour a day, five days a week for two weeks. After the first week, I felt really sick. And after the second week, I ended up losing 30 pounds total. One morning, I woke up and I could not walk. I stumbled around and my legs were so tight, I just remember going, “Mom, what is going on?” No one knew what was happening and the doctor refused to see me. So I ended up leaving the treatment early in a wheelchair. I was so excited because I had just been named captain for my high school’s basketball team, and then I came back from this treatment in a wheelchair.

I found wheelchair basketball on YouTube one day and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. Your arms are jacked and you’re playing ball on chairs. I had no idea people with disabilities could even do that. I had never heard of the Paralympics. My dad was retired military so I was able to try out wheelchair basketball for the first time with guys who had just come back from overseas with either one or both of their legs amputated. I was this 17-year-old scrawny white girl with guys who were twice my age and twice my size, but I absolutely loved the game.

How did you go from playing wheelchair basketball with men in the military to being on Team USA?

From practicing with guys in the military, I got a reference to go and meet with the San Antonio Spurs wheelchair basketball team. They were just getting ready for their season, so I thought I was just going to watch their practice and see what it was all about. Eventually, they invited me onto the roster and I started playing. Then, I got a letter of intent to go play at the University of Texas at Arlington. Literally three months after that, I got recruited for Team USA.

How do you compare the change in perceptions towards LGBTQ athletes and Paralympic athletes over the last few years?

Over the last few years, especially in Rio, it seems like everyone is just coming together, regardless of Olympian, Paralympian, LGBTQ or not LGBTQ. Everybody is just an athlete. As part of the LGBTQ athlete community, I think we all just want to be athletes. We strive for the equality and the equity of just being an athlete. Being part of the LGBTQ community makes it a little bit more special.

So there has been some progression, but what do you think needs to happen or continue to happen in the near future?

I think it is important that we are treated just like our counterparts. As a Paralympian, all we want is to be treated and paid like our Olympian counterparts. Just like how LGBTQ athletes want to be treated the same as straight athletes. We play the same sports at the same competitive level and train the exact same way at the exact same facilities. We all do the same things. So I think equal treatment and equal pay should be at the forefront.

With COVID, how has training been? How is basketball now? 

For me, personally, my health has done a total 180 during the pandemic. I’m now walking and doing a lot of things that I never thought I could do. I actually retired from Team USA last month. A lot of it was due to the pandemic and positive health reasons, but it was definitely a hard decision. I know that, for the team, they cannot go back to the Olympic training center for a few months at least.

Are you continuing to play basketball even though you retired from Team USA?

Yeah, that is one of the things I’m looking at for this upcoming season. I’m thinking about moving to North or South Carolina right now. It’s all still up in the air, but I have built my own home gym. So, I’m still training like I’m playing.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

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

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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