KNOXVILLE, TN. – The local PWM (primarily White media) seem to have no qualms about sending a press contingent whenever a local male athlete goes into a particular hall of fame, but not a single one whenever a female athlete is inducted. Last weekend here in Knoxville is another such example.
WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles, who won two league championships, two Finals, and one league MVP wearing a Minnesota Lynx uniform, was among the seven-member Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (WBHOF) Class of 2025, but the only Minnesota media there was the MSR.
Lindsay Whalen was inducted in the Naismith HOF in 2022, and we were the only local media there. By comparison, San Antonio’s four media outlets were there for Manu Ginobili, who was in the same class as the Minnesota-born Whalen.
Last summer when three former Lynx stars — Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus — went into the WBHOF, no other local media were there but me.
Last weekend was the third time, a charm, regarding absent Minnesota media at a hall of fame induction involving females. Nonetheless this longtime women’s sports reporter made the trek to Knoxville.
Among the 16 featured displays I saw on my self-guided tour is the 1981-82 Cheyney State women’s team, the only HBCU to play for a national championship. The all-Black squad was inducted last year as “Trailblazers of the Game.” There also is a display honoring Black colleges’ and universities’ “rich history in the development, change, and growth of women’s basketball,” says the sign above it.
“Sweet Syl” was very happy and hugged us prior to speaking at the packed-room media session. “Sylvia Fowles’ unparalleled achievements showcase her extraordinary talent, work ethic, and impact on basketball worldwide,” said the WBHOF Class of 2025 Inductees bio sheet.
She, Alana Beard and Cappie Pondexter were the only Black females in this year’s HOF class. The three legends combined during their pro careers earned 18 All-Star berths, three league best defensive player honors, three Finals MVP awards, and five WNBA championships.
Completing the class is Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Executive Director Danielle Donehew; Union (TN) University and NAIA championship Coach Mark Campbell; Lucille Kyvallos, who coached at West Chester (Pa.) State College and Queens (N.Y.) College to early era greatness; and WNBA legend Sue Bird, one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All-Time and All-Decade Team.
The MSR asked the 2025 WBHOF inductees during the brief media Q&A last Friday about the social media presence that sometimes seems too divisive in today’s women’s basketball, especially in the WNBA.
“It’s so many new fans coming into the game,” said Beard, “and they don’t necessarily understand the game the way we as players and original fans do. I think it’s going to take time for everyone to connect…and listen to my perspective to learn and not necessarily to criticize.”
It is always humbling to be inducted into a hall of fame, even the WBHOF that opened in Knoxville in 1999. This year’s class joins 199 individuals already in the Hall, a 32,000-square foot building with the world’s largest basketball (10 tons and 30 feet tall) on top.
Fowles said after her speech, “It’s been a humbling experience. A full circle moment not because of the things that I have done but thinking back on how I started. Basketball wasn’t a primary sport, it wasn’t something I wanted to do full time. It opened so many doors and presented so many opportunities.
“And now I am standing…as a Hall of Famer. I am very thankful of the journey that the Creator decided to send me on and placed all these amazing people in my life.”
Fowles also will be going into Naismith HOF in September along with Bird and former teammate Maya Moore.
Finally, the HOFer believes that former Lynx teammate and current Assistant Coach Rebekkah Brunson eventually will join her, Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus and Whalen in the Hall. “She’ll be in soon,” predicts Fowles.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.