Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971 in Brownfield, Texas) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Houston Comets in the WNBA.
Personal
Swoopes is also the first women’s basketball player to have a Nike shoe named after her: the “Air Swoopes”. She also has a young son named Jordan, named after former professional basketball player Michael Jordan.
In October 2005, she publicly announced that she is a lesbian, becoming one of the most high profile athletes in a team sport to do so. Reporting to ESPN The Magazine and The Advocate, Swoopes claimed that her divorce in 1999 wasn’t due to her sexuality and that she does not believe she was born homosexual. Her partner is a former basketball player and former Houston Comets assistant coach Alisa Scott. The New York Times also reported that Swoopes and Scott have been a couple as early as 1998.
On October 26, 2005, according to the The New York Times and USA Today Swoopes became the spokeswoman for Olivia, a cruise line dedicated to lesbian travelers.
College years
In 1993 Swoopes won the NCAA women’s basketball title with Texas Tech during her senior season. Her jersey was retired by the school the following year.
Swoopes was assigned to the Houston Comets of the WNBA during the inaugural season. Due to her pregnancy, she did not play that year. Nonetheless, the team went on to win a WNBA Championship in 1997. As a member of the Houston Comets, she has accumulated over 2,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, 300 career assists and 200 career steals. Her scoring and defensive ability have helped her become the first three-time WNBA MVP (2000, 2002, 2005) and the first three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2002, 2003). Swoopes is a four-time WNBA champion (1997 – 2000).
Swoopes’s contributions to women’s basketball as well as her tough play through injury have her generally considered to be one of the best female basketball players of all time. She would become part of the triple threat offense during the Comet dynasty with Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson.
Swoopes is the second player in WNBA history to win both the regular season MVP award and the All-Star Game MVP award in the same season. The first player to accomplish this was Lisa Leslie.
Swoopes is also the first to record a playoff triple-double in WNBA history.
Swoopes gained national prominence when she won the gold medal with the USA Women’s Basketball Team at the 1996 Olympic Games and became a focal point of the fledgling Women’s National Basketball Association. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2000, 2004)
Vital statistics
- Position: Forward
- Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
- College: Texas Tech 1993
- Team(s): Houston Comets (WNBA), Dallas Fury (NWBL)
Source: Wikipedia
