The WNBA has already made Satou Sabally one of the faces in the fight against racism and for social justice – now the German national basketball player in the US league wants to gain attention and respect on the pitch too.
“I am confident. I am here for a reason and I know that my team will strengthen my back,” said the 22-year-old before the season start with the Dallas Wings against the Atlanta Dream (11:00 p.m. CEST), which was delayed for months by Corona. “My anticipation was there in every test game, but on Sunday it will probably be something else because it’s about something.”
Satou Sabally – born in New York, grew up in Berlin
Sabally – born in New York and raised in Berlin – most recently played in college for Oregon State and was selected second by the Wings in the draft. Never before had a US team chosen a German athlete to distribute talent. “Mentally, I don’t have to get used to it. I’m a winner and I want to win,” she said.
There are differences to the student level in the strongest women’s basketball league in the world. “Physicality is the key. It’s a big difference to college games. I have to get used to it and learn from it.”
Co-leader of the WNBA Council for Social Justice
The fact that the league believes that is also evident from the responsibility Sabally was given long before the first basket. A good two weeks ago, the WNBA announced that it, together with other players, will lead a newly founded council for social justice. Like the NBA, the Women’s League also wants to use the return to the floor to draw attention to racism and related social issues.
Sabally seems predestined for this. She has links to the “More than an Athlete” initiative founded by LeBron James, which has been campaigning for more social justice for years and wants to show the people behind the sports stories. Her interviews have always been about racism, especially since the nationwide protests.
“Having someone so loud and proud to say what they stand for and what they stand for does a really good job,” said Marie Gülich of the LA Sparks of the German Press Agency. “I am proud of them and support them.”
Sabally: racism a global pandemic like Covid-19
Sabally has her own experience. “At school I always had to work particularly hard and always justify myself when I had good grades. According to the motto: Oh, you have a one?”, She said only on Thursday. “Just as Covid-19 is a global pandemic, racism is also one.”
The fact that Sabally did not win the first games long ago and that she could continue to work on the German success story of her role model Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas is due to the pandemic. It was long unclear when the season could begin. Now, as with men, all teams are in one place. The women are also in Florida, but on the other side of the state in Bradenton. “This pandemic has shown us that basketball cannot be taken for granted. You have to play every game as if it were your last,” she said.
“Kneeling doesn’t seem sufficient to protest”
Even hours before Sabally’s appearance, the players of the US basketball professional league used the start of the season as a strong sign against racism in the USA. Before the opening game of the WNBA between Seattle Storm and New York Liberty, the basketball players left the arena on Saturday (local time) while playing the national anthem and went back into the changing rooms. “Kneeling doesn’t seem enough to protest,” said New York captain Layshia Clarendon.
When the players returned to the field, they paused for 26 seconds to pay tribute to Breonna Taylor. The black American was shot dead by police officers at her home in March at the age of 26. So far there have been no charges against the officials involved. The names of Breonna Taylor also appeared on the jerseys of the players.
