New Mystic Alysha Clark looks forward to continuing her activism originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Last summer, one of the newest members of the Mystics, Alysha Clark, found her voice off the basketball court.
It was a time of social unrest, as Americans across the country protested the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers. For Clark, that time gave her more of an appreciation for the WNBA and its commitment to empowering players to speak up for what they feel is right.
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"When you look at the WNBA and what it's made up of, who it's made up of, we are female athletes, which is already in the minority and we're used to having to fight for the things that we want," Clark said in an interview on Wizards Pregame Live. "But we're all comprised of 80% Black women, LGBTQ communities, there's so many dynamics and so many different players in this league from different religious standpoints, all these things that make up this amazing league.
"So we're used to having to speak up and speak out for the things that we see are wrong. We're used to having to speak up or speak out to be treated equally or demand respect, so this summer with the 'Say Her Name' campaign, it gave us another platform to continue to speak on not just the racial inequalities in the U.S., but these are things that affect us on a daily basis when we take these jerseys off and we step outside of that court."
The Say Her Name campaign, which was founded in 2014 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, is an initiative committed to saying the names and fighting for justice for Black women. The league dedicated its shortened 2020 season to Taylor, who was fatally shot in her home in March by Louisville police officers. And players like Clark plan on continuing to push for change in their communities.
"I'm just proud to be a part of a league that's so invested in making not only our sports community better, but our communities as a whole better," Clark said. "That's one of the things that I really am looking forward to in D.C. I feel like this past summer, I found my voice, as a Black woman, as a novice activist in that sense, so I'm really, really looking forward to continuing to learn and continuing to grow in that area."
The Mystics signed Clark in free agency in February, bringing another veteran presence to the roster for a potential title run in 2021. Clark is coming off her second WNBA championship, winning two with the Seattle Storm in the last three years.
Tune in to NBC Sports Washington at 6 p.m. on Tuesday for Alysha Clark's full interview on Wizards Pregame Live
