More Than Just an Athlete: Nneka Ogwumike’s Activism On and Off the Court

If you're one of the record-setting ticket-buyers or viewers who followed the WNBA in person or on TV during the 2024 season, a few immediate impressions might come to mind. When you close your eyes, maybe you picture Caitlin Clark setting assist records as a rookie, Sabrina Ionescu pulling up for 3 from the logo, Angel Reese's dominant presence on the glass, or A'ja Wilson's unprecedented scoring and rebounding. But what about the measured and continued brilliance of Nneka Ogwumike, a future Hall of Famer and advocate for change both on and off the court?

As the WNBA soars to new heights of popularity, it’s important to celebrate a true upstander whose diligent, forward-thinking, and equity-centered behind-the-scenes work helped set the stage for this era of growth and mainstream cultural relevance for women’s sports. President of the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) labor union since 2016, Ogwumike has always lived a life that's bigger than basketball—standing up to the status quo to challenge and confront bias and bigotry against women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

In a society that sometimes tells politically conscious athletes to "shut up and dribble"—and where individuals have the choice to shape history and create a more just and compassionate world—Nneka Ogwumike understands the power of courageously using her voice to advocate for equality, human rights, and civic engagement. 

A Champion in Every Sense of the Word

Born in Texas on July 2, 1990 to Nigerian immigrant parents, Nneka Ogwumike led her high school team to a 5A State Championship before starring at Stanford University, where she helped the Cardinals reach the Final Four during each year of her college career. She was selected with the #1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2012 WNBA Draft—two years ahead of her younger sister Chiney, who would be the #1 pick in the 2014 draft. 

Her career has been as full of accolades as any player in history: Rookie of the Year in 2012, WNBA MVP and Champion in 2016, a nine-time All-Star, a seven-time All-Defensive Team player, and a seven-time All-WNBA Team player. She has additionally won two FIBA World Cup gold medals while representing the United States on the international stage. In recognition of her wide consideration as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was named to the league's 25th Anniversary Team in 2021.

While her on-court resume speaks for itself, Ogwumike has never been one to rest on her laurels or sit idly by when she perceives something is unfair or unjust—and her tenure as Players Association President has been one that stands apart for its emphasis on activism and social justice. Speaking to her core values, Ogwumike understands her responsibility to stand up for the rights of her colleagues who are representative of some of America’s most marginalized groups: “Our league is made up of the people that require more rights in this world and our society.”

As a league with a predominantly Black and significantly LGBTQ+ makeup, under Ogwumike’s leadership the WNBA has come to the forefront of sports political and cultural activism in the face of systemic inequalities. In 2016—months before NFL player Colin Kaepernick famously took a knee to protest police brutality—members of the Minnesota Lynx wore t-shirts at a press conference to honor Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, two Black victims of police shootings. And when the Atlanta Dream's politician co-owner used racist rhetoric during an election season, members of the squad bravely took a stand and campaigned for the opponent even though it put their careers at risk. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire WNBA to relocate to a “bubble” in Florida, Ogwumike urged the league to use its public stature to dedicate the entire season to social justice, leading to players wearing shirts with Breonna Taylor's name and playing on courts emblazoned with the phrase "Black Lives Matter." 

Ogwumike’s leadership, vision, empathy, and sense of right and wrong were especially highlighted during one of the biggest challenges of her presidential tenure: the negotiation of the 2020 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the formalized written contract between the WNBA and the Players’ Union.

Upstanding When it Counts

While the WNBA is the highest-profile women's basketball league in the world, for years its CBA lagged far behind many other professional leagues in terms of salaries, travel accommodations, practice facilities, and parental rights. While men's leagues uniformly fly charter and work out in state-of-the-art gyms, WNBA players had no choice but to fly coach at odd hours, stay in cheap hotels, and practice at local high schools. 

When evaluating the contract that existed at the time, Ogwumike pointed out that the league had no formal policy on pregnancy—requiring many players to choose between their careers and their families, forcing stars to play abroad or simply forgo having children altogether. WNBPA then-director of operations Terri Jackson applauded Ogwumike for realizing that one of the biggest injustices in the league had never before been addressed: “If you read the old CBA, there’s no section on maternity leave, or what it means to be pregnant. I wonder, how many players did we lose? How many did not come back, because they didn’t see the support? Nneka understood that.” 

When all was said and done, Ogwumike had negotiated a “groundbreaking, glass-ceiling-cracking collective bargaining agreement” that prioritized player health, safety, livelihoods, and the sustainable financial future of the league. For the first time in WNBA history players began to experience progress in the form of more fair compensation, improved travel standards and practice facilities, and revenue sharing. Most radically, a full-salaried maternity leave policy was implemented in addition to annual childcare stipends, workplace and housing accommodations for players with children, and family planning benefits.

Not only did this make an actual, tangible difference in the lives and careers of WNBA players, but the effects have even spread to other sports. When the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ratified their first-ever CBA, they were heavily influenced by Ogwumike's advocacy: "Having players from other leagues contact us and ask our opinion and our advice is exactly what we’re doing it for. If we hadn’t fought and signed our CBA, there wouldn’t even be any framework for other leagues to figure out how they can do it themselves… We are all women looking to live in a world where we can work in equity, and we can have careers where resources and our value are a priority." Thanks to this work—and the creation of the league’s Social Justice Council, the first of its kind in professional sports—Ogwumike and the WNBPA were the co-recipients of the 2021 Jackie Robinson Award from the NAACP.

A Vision for the Future

Never satisfied with solely leaving her mark on basketball, Ogwumike stepped into more public activism in 2024 when she took the reins at More Than a Vote, a voting rights nonprofit organization originally founded by NBA icon LeBron James. After volunteering as a poll worker during the 2020 election, she knew she wanted to be more involved in the future and get others motivated to fulfill their civic responsibility and vote—and especially to have the ability to advocate for women's issues and reproductive rights: “We’d be remiss if we didn’t use our privilege in our platform to be able to shed light on what it really means to have autonomy when it comes to being a woman in society… whether it’s your career or planning your life around your career.” This dedication to civic engagement, human rights, and fundamental equality when the stakes are highest is consistent with how she has always lived her life.

While the 2020 CBA began to level the playing field, there’s no such thing as “good enough” for Nneka Ogwumike. The WNBPA has voted to opt out of the final year of the current CBA which will now expire at the end of the upcoming 2025 season, and Ogwumike will return to the negotiating table in the fall with confidence in her ability to stand up for her peers and continue to address the gender pay equity gap. “Opting out isn't just about bigger paychecks—it's about claiming our rightful share of the business we've built, improving working conditions, and securing a future where the success we create benefits today's players and the generations to come. We're not just asking for a CBA that reflects our value; we're demanding it, because we've earned it.”

As she enters year 14 of a legendary career, WNBA fans must begin to make peace with the fact that eventually Nneka Ogwumike will hang up her jersey and retire from the game on which she has had such a major influence. But like the true upstander and champion that she is, we’re certain she will continue to use her platform and skillset to advocate for social justice and the rights of women and workers—working hard to make a powerful impact on the lives of marginalized communities both on the parquet and in the world beyond.