Growing up Black in Italy had prepared me for a world of racism. But it wasn’t until I became a pro basketball player in Israel that I’d be detained for it. — It was my second season playing professional basketball in Israel. I was playing for Rannana. We were the underdog and made it to the championship final where we lost to the forever champs from Ramla. It was probably my best season as a pro at that point, loved my teammates…

Born To Play — My name is Giorgia Sottana. I was born to be a basketball player. Basketball simply came natural to me. Dribbling past the defenders, facilitating the offense, scoring baskets, and hitting the game-winning shots have never been difficult for me. I started playing professionally when at the young age of fifteen…

I Cry. I Get Up. And I Keep Going. — This has been my routine for years after my basketball practice. Coming from a small and developing country like Venezuela, I do not have the time and luxury to be thinking about anything else but basketball. People have doubted my athletic ability since the very first day I started playing…

“Facing your fears is difficult, but when you finally build up the courage to do so, the outcome is incredibly rewarding.” By Erin Mathias. Edited by Lai Wei. I was at war with my sexuality for a long time. Throughout college, I was like that old sweater that got lost…

We were a little past the halfway mark into the season. I’m currently in my 9th professional season; the first with Costa Masnaga, situated 40 minutes outside of Milan. And like the rest of the world we started hearing about a highly contagious disease that was spreading like wildfire in…

As I mentioned on a previous post, I’m going to make more of an effort to show more love to other elite athletes out here who are transitioning or have transitioned from their playing careers to their post-playing careers. I’ve been blessed to have come in contact with several elite…

Today I’m going to talk about the relationship between American players who play overseas and the local players in mostly European countries. For the most part we get along but there is an unspoken rift between us. Some of us have heard it. Some of us have felt it. But…

“How do you feel about the WNBA players demanding more money, resources and help?” I was in Valencia, Spain speaking in front of Florida State University students who were studying abroad. I’d been invited to speak about my life as an American professional athlete overseas athlete and my entrepreneurship goals…

Athletes are the heartbeat that pumps a global multi-billion dollar industry. Yet we own a very small piece of it. For most of our lives we have been shut out of the business side of the game. And some of that has been by design. Although we have dedicated our…