Three and a half years ago, I took on what was then the journalistic role of my lifetime. The Athletic was launching national WNBA coverage, and I was tasked with reporting on my hometown Los Angeles Sparks. When The Athletic launched in L.A. the previous season, I refused to even subscribe until a Sparks writer was brought on board, and now that job was mine.
I’d never had an opportunity to cover a team like that. I spent most of my college years in the newsroom and contracted at several places afterward, but most of my assignments were game based. I got really good at breaking down why the Blue Devils couldn’t get the ball to Chante Black or what skills to pay attention to from Jordan Clarkson in garbage time as the Lakers stumbled toward another lottery finish. I valued those experiences, and I carry that analytical background with me today. I just wanted more.
The Athletic was the only place I’d ever worked that gave me the creative freedom to start my tenure by profiling a training camp player who didn’t make the final roster, because her journey was instructive of the plight of women’s basketball players. I got to write about an assistant coach’s musical side hustle, a rookie who had to google her coach after she got drafted, all while I broke down the…
