Womens Hoops

WNBA: Former Houston Comet Sheryl Swoopes speaks on ‘Kneading Dough’

WNBA: Former Houston Comet Sheryl Swoopes speaks on ‘Kneading Dough’

She was an original in every way. She helped pave the way and in the end she had seen and done it all.

WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has an army of accolades that most can only dream of attaining. Beginning with her college days at Texas Tech in which she was a First Team All-American (1992 and 1993) in addition to being a national champion and Naismith College Player of the Year. Then she was part of the historic 1996 U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball team that changed the course of history for women’s sports after dominating its way to a gold medal, her first of three.

Her ultimate breakthrough came in 1997 as one of the first three original players in the WNBA along with Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo. She signed with the Houston Comets and was a catalyst for their dynasty run that included four consecutive WNBA championships from 1997 to 2000. She was the league MVP in 2000, 2002, and 2005. Also, let’s not forget that she was the first woman athlete to have her own shoe when Nike introduced us to the Air Swoopes, pinning her as the female Michael Jordan.

The trail that was blazed by Sheryl Swoopes is undoubtable, but it wasn’t easy for her. She grew up in Brownfield, Texas, a small town with little to no money being raised by her mother. Basketball became her saving grace through some trying times and she was determined to use that as her ticket toward upward mobility for her and her family.

Even as she would go on to achieve remarkable success, she would later find herself in financial shambles once her career was over in 2005. Lawyers and agents squandered her money and bad investments depleted her wealth. As a result, in 2004, she filed for bankruptcy even though she had earned over $50 million.

In the amazing 2013 ESPN documentary “Swoopes,” she revealed that she had to sell her awards and accolades just to pay the bills. She wasn’t the first or last high profile athlete to encounter financial hardships but she is up front and honest about…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Swish Appeal – All Posts…