Bird is an out and proud lesbian, but recognizes that to some, “I’m a straight girl.” She continued, noting that she’s also white, “compared to Syl, she’s very Small, so not intimidating, Syl is black, dark-skinned, of a certain build, and yes, that’s 100 percent at play here.”
Fowles admits it, but doesn’t seem in the mood to dissect it.
“You think you should do everything right, and then when you do everything right, you get attention,” she said. “But that’s not the case for a number of reasons.”
Fowles’ voice is behind.
“Why do I have to go the extra mile to get noticed?”
She hopes for a better future: the next generation of great players like her will be more well-known, and the WNBA will find a way to promote all players. “We’re 80 percent black women, and you have to figure out how to market these black women,” she said. “I don’t think we’re doing well.”
Fowles has done everything in his power to pave the way for these changes. Her performance has stood the test of time. “I’m proud of myself, I’ve been the same person from 2008 to 2022,” she said. “I’m not a flippant person. I’m a leader, not a follower. I stand up and talk about what I believe.”
In her final season as an on-court coach on a young and struggling Bobcats team, she averaged nearly 15 points and a Nearly 10 rebounds.
The fight for respect will now fall to other players as Foles embarks on a career that fits perfectly with Bird’s character as his mother.
