UConn great, WNBA star Sue Bird honored by Anti-Defamation League – Greenwich Time
UConn and WNBA legend Sue Bird was honored Tuesday night by the Anti-Defamation League as the organization’s first recipient of its inaugural Changemaker Award.
The honor recognizes an individual in the sports or entertainment industry with an outstanding record of using their platform to promote positive change in society.
The four-time WNBA Champion and two-time NCAA Champion was presented with the award and gave remarks at the virtual 2021 ADL Never is Now Summit Against Antisemitism and Hate Tuesday evening.
“I’m honored to accept the inaugural Changemaker Award from ADL,” Bird said during her remarks. “ADL’s mission to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all is personal to me. And I’m honored to be a part of Never is Now because now is the time to come together and speak out after a year of unimaginable hate.
“But most of all, I’m honored to receive an award not for scoring the most points or dropping the most dimes. But for recognizing and praising the fact that I did not just stick to sports.”
Bird, who has an apartment with fiancé Megan Rapinoe in Greenwich, has been an outspoken activist for racial equality, health, LGBTQ rights and gender equality throughout her time in the WNBA. As a vice president on the leadership board of the WNBA’s Players Association, Bird helped lead the league’s efforts to dedicate the 2020 season to Breonna Taylor — the 26-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed by police officers in March 2020.
“People who tell me to stick to sports don’t understand that becoming an activist wasn’t an option. As a female athlete it’s sadly never just been about basketball,” said Bird, a dual American and Israeli citizen. “Sometimes it feels like I’m judged based on everything but the game that I play. I’m judged because I’m a woman. I’m judged because I’m Jewish. I’m judged because I’m gay. And many of my teammates, they’re judged because they’re Black.”
Most recently, the 41-year-old supported the election of Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock. With the help of Bird and other WNBA players, Warnock defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler — former co-owner of the Atlanta Dream — in Georgia’s runoff election and became the state’s first Black senator.
“I always tell my teammates that the proof is in the pudding and I think our experience with the Georgia senate race really proved that we are stronger when we band together,” Bird said.
“If you take only thing away from my story, let it be this: You don’t have to be a star athlete to be a change maker. All you need to do is speak out for what you believe in. Never let the threat of being political stop you from standing up for yourself and for others. I’m proud to be who I am. I’m proud to be Jewish. I’m proud to be gay. I’m proud to be a woman. Our identities are beautiful and need to be protected. Embrace your identity and fight to make sure it can’t be taken away from you or anyone else.”
ADL was founded in 1913 with the mission to protect the Jewish community while promoting justice and fair treatment across society. Today the organization continues to fight against antisemitism by providing anti-bias education. The ‘Never is Now’ summit was kicked off on Nov. 7 with opening remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris.
maggie.vanoni@hearstmediact.com