said<\/a><\/strong> in an Instagram Reel. By no means does Ogwumike hate the move. In fact, she believes some positives come from DeMarco\u2019s hiring.<\/p>\n\u201cFor a very long time, people thought that the standard for meaningful opportunity in this industry was being associated with the NBA,\u201d Ogwumike added.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, that is no longer the case. It\u2019s great that more people respect and view the WNBA for what it is: a high-level basketball league. Ironically, for a league that is for women, there is a raging issue with the lack of female representation in roles of authority.<\/p>\n
Out of the 15 current WNBA head coaches, only seven are women. The most alarming is that there was only one black female head coach in the entire league. Noelle Quinn was that anomaly, but following her firing, the number now stands at 0; a number which Ogwumike believes to be unacceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, all the eyes are on the WNBA and its head coaches, but I hope we also never forget who helped to pave the way,\u201d Ogwumike said.<\/p>\n
Now, the easy rebuttal that most people will have is that these teams just chose the best available option. However, that\u2019s not necessarily the case, since there are incredible black women across the WNBA and the NBA, who are more than deserving of the opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cKristi Tolliver, Briann January, Karima Christmas-Kelly, Lindsey Harding, who is currently with the Los Angeles Lakers,\u201d Ogwumike listed. Those are only a few names off the top of her head of black women with tremendous minds worthy of opportunity in the WNBA.<\/p>\n
The opportunity the WNBA can offer coaches now is tremendous. So, the ones who worked tirelessly to propagate the women\u2019s game deserve the opportunity more than anymore. Hopefully, Ogwumike\u2019s public callout is enough to spark change within the WNBA.<\/p>\n