Oakland

Naismith Hall of Fame Basketball Legend Nancy Lieberman WNBA team for Oakland

The former player-coach and Gary Reeves, her development partner, have talked with Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and members of the African American Sports Entertainment Group since March.

Published

4 years ago

June 19, 2021

Christy Price

Nancy Lieberman/ Wikimedia Commons

Nancy Lieberman, one of the most celebrated female basketball players over the last decades, is supporting the push to bring a WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) franchise to Oakland.

The former player-coach and Gary Reeves, her development partner, have talked with Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and members of the African American Sports Entertainment Group since March.

Reeves said, “she (was) one of the most successful WNBA executives. In the early stages of the league’s development with the Detroit Monarchs …. she impressively operated the business side of the team into the ‘black’ and drove a fearless community outreach program. This resulted in the team having one of the largest fan bases in a large, urban-based WNBA city.”
Lieberman has spoken at length to Kaplan about possibly joining a female-led and Black-equity ownership group to bring a team to Oakland. Nancy Lieberman Charities is active today, supporting under-resourced communities across the country with PPE, food distribution, academic scholarships, job readiness programs and providing clothes to 100 new Nancy Lieberman Sport Courts for neighborhoods that don’t have up-to-date, safe playing surfaces.
Lieberman told Post Publisher Paul Cobb that she often credits the African American community for protecting her and supporting her as a child, especially when she played hoops at the legendary Rucker Park in New York City.

Kaplan cited the June 2021 cover story of the Sports Illustrated magazine as evidence of the emergence and growth of the WNBA and its potential opportunities for diversity and equity and female and Black ownership potential.

Since Lieberman’s first interview and podcast with the Post, many Oakland-based groups have expressed interest in bringing a WNBA team to Oakland.

Reeves said the initiatives taken by Lieberman and Kaplan should be supported and embraced by the Black community.

Gay Plair Cobb, CEO Emerita of the PIC (Partners In Careers), said “It’s past time for Black women to also participate as co-owners with a diverse group of women investors in major sports franchises.”