Bob Collins[This post has been updated]
"It is an honor for us to represent the state of Minnesota, for women, for our country."@MooreMaya speaks at the @minnesotalynx community service day in DC! #WNBACares pic.twitter.com/fVpIND1YNK
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 7, 2018
There is no sports team in Minnesota that leads like the Minnesota Lynx.
Now, they’re showing the world an alternative to the hackneyed invite to the White House.
Theirs never came following their latest championship, and it’s not much of a surprise. The team isn’t afraid to lead. That frightens power.
The team is in Washington for a game on Thursday night. So Wednesday might have been a good day for the White House to invite them over (especially since the Philadelphia Eagles refused the White House invitation).
No matter, the Lynx showed the sports world an alternative to the cliche, the Star Tribune says. They’re doing stuff. Important stuff. Leadership stuff.
Congratulations to @WNBA Champions, the @minnesotalynx! You can always celebrate with DCPS. Our @PayneDCPS students loved their new shoes, and the opportunity to meet “real champions,” members of Congress, and all the community leaders who joined us today! pic.twitter.com/3wFm7KGwVv
— DC Public Schools (@dcpublicschools) June 6, 2018
“We didn’t want to make it about us,” center Sylvia Fowles said. “So we came up with the idea of, ‘Why don’t we just give back?’ We reached out to coach, and told her what we were thinking.”
It just so happened that Reeve had just talked with the Samaritan’s Feet, a nonprofit that provides shoes to children, about partnering with the organization. So, the day after the home opener, on May 21, Reeve called them up. “I said, ‘I know this is crazy, I know time is short, but do you think we can pull something off?’ And they literally ran with it.”
In just weeks, Samaritan’s Feet had identified Payne Elementary in D.C. A Title 1 school, 30 percent of its students are homeless and all fall under “low income” status.
Nike, Jordan Brand and DTLR Villa donated new socks and shoes for all 340 students.
“Once it became the idea, and that it could come to fruition, our business people jumped in and were sprinting with it, pulling it together,” Reeve said. “I’m super proud of the players. They could have had a day off. But they were like, ‘Nope, this is how we want to do this. This is how we want to celebrate our 2017 title in D.C.”
“We want to serve,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve tells the Strib’s Kent Youngblood. “We want to give back, show that this is what champions do.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr on what the Minnesota Lynx are doing today in Washington, celebrating their WNBA title by helping out underprivileged kids after not being invited to the White House: pic.twitter.com/I6nmOVyfaU
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 6, 2018
Memories to last a lifetime.
For everyone. pic.twitter.com/mcRvqN6cFA
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) June 6, 2018
