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Nakia Sanford
For starters, there's no cushy offseason or LeBron James-size paycheck.
"We don't have the salaries that the men do, so we actually play year-round," the Mystics center explained, adding that most WNBA athletes spend six to seven months playing in Europe or elsewhere. That means holidays are rarely spent at home with family: Sanford said she is usually overseas for Thanksgiving and has spent every major holiday outside the country, except Christmas. Most countries will give players a five-day break on average for the winter holiday season, Sanford said -- but that includes travel time.
"So you can imagine being somewhere like Italy, and you have to fly home, get there that day, you have two or three days, and then that fourth or fifth day you're flying back overseas," Sanford said.
Combine that with 17 away games this WNBA season, and suddenly it's clear why Sanford -- who's averaging 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game so far this season -- thinks an opportunity to just chill on her couch with her dog on her lap sounds mighty appealing. Of course, her family teases her for not taking trips when she does have vacation.
"I'm like, 'Well, I go somewhere for a living'," Sanford said, though she said she has been able to go places she never dreamed of thanks to her job -- including stints on teams in Italy, Belgium, and France, and most recently for the Russian team Chevakata, which made it to the semi-finals at the women's EuroCup in February.
Sanford, who went undrafted out of Kansas where she ranked among the Jayhawks' all-time best rebounders and shot blockers, played exclusively overseas before the Mystics signed her in 2003. She's been with Washington since and recently purchased a condo in Virginia. Even though one would imagine that all the travel would have made her happy to drop anchor anywhere, the center found that enjoying life in D.C. was not an immediate realization.
"I'm from the South, so it's a little bit different mood and place," Sanford admitted. "Now, I absolutely love it. I love that drive to work...I love eating out. I love the food."
Another off-court interest is Sanford's foundation for children, the Betty Ann Robinson Foundation, named after her grandmother. The foundation focuses on providing a support system to students who don't play sports. One of its programs is GIRL TALK, which strives to provide the children with an accessible forum to interact with mentors and peers. For her work with the foundation, Sanford won the WNBA Community Assist Award in 2007. One wonders, though: why is BAR not a basketball foundation?
"I wanted to focus more on girls going into high school and try to find the doctors, the lawyers," Sanford said. "Once you play sports, you already have a leg up. You have kind of a built-in support system. And there are a lot of kids out there that aren't athletic, and they get skipped over."
Living the life of a WNBA player might not be all rockstars and champagne; but giving back so freely to kids, regardless of their athletic prowess? That deserves some red carpet recognition.
You can watch Sanford and the Mystics face Candace Parker and the Los Angeles Sparks this Saturday at Verizon Center. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. -- tickets are available here.
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No one cares about the Mystics.
I would think that at least some of the nearly 10,000 people that attended their last home game care...
Pretty sure they were all just homeless folks showing up in response to the 'Free admission and sandwiches tonight at the Verizon center' signs i saw the Mystics players waving on corners earlier in the day.
You have no idea what you're talking about. Don't hate on the sports teams in DC.
awww. did i hurt your feelings? if it makes you feel better, i heard the sandwiches were good. The homeless guy outside my office told me they were so good he's thinking of going again next year, 'the lettuce was fresh and there was a good selection of condiments.'
No you didn't hurt my feelings, you are just ignorant!
Ignorant? You mean, joking about a basketball team that was limited to 34 points in a game? I guess I understand, the layups just weren't falling. but a team only scoring 34 points? in an entire game?
Cool and inspiring article! I'm impressed w/ how the...BARFoundation is so well thought out, including helping w/ access to medical and legal help. Awesome.
Fatspecialkid - no sandwich for you.
Fat kid,
Nakia could ram even you through the basket...well maybe unless you were a free throw. But she is improving on them too. No way, would she allow you near the basket.
fat kids don't play basketball (for very long anyway).
while his no one cares comment was a pretty silly generalization that, nevertheless, hints at a general truth, i thought the homeless sandwich comment was a pretty good comeback.