Per the NY Daily News:
Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman grew up playing hoops in Harlem and at Far Rockaway HS in Queens, where she was known as one of the top players in the city - male or female. After she graduated from high school in 1976, Lieberman became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history when she played on the team that won a silver medal at Montreal.
Lieberman attended Old Dominion University from 1976-80, and was the first Lady Monarch to earn a full athletic scholarship. She won back-to-back national championships and an NIT title, and became the first two-time women's national player of the year. She scored 2,430 points, grabbed 1,167 rebounds, dished 983 assists and had 700 steals in just 134 games.
Q: Did you see any impact of Title IX as a high school basketball player? Were the boys' and girls' programs in your school equal?
A: I had the opportunity to play because Far Rockaway was very good and very competitive. You could see a little bit of impact; as slight as it was, it was progress. I think for us, they did the best they could. Did we get the same as the boys? No. I'd be lying to you if I said we had anything close to equality. We had a basketball, softball and field hockey team - but we had teams. Some schools didn't have money to have teams.
Maybe I didn't know that we didn't have equality because we were just happy to play at that time and it wasn't about how cool your uniform was. All we cared about was that we got to play 25 games, play in the PSAL and we got to play basketball.
Q: You played in a few pro leagues that folded after college. When you played in the WNBA at age 38, did you think any of the younger players took for granted the fact that they had all the opportunities to play basketball?
A: No, they're not supposed to know that. It's like young people knowing about slavery, the Holocaust, other social issues. They probably don't because it didn't affect them and they're living in today's world and it's a narrow world, but you can't hold it against them because it's not anything they are living through now. Again, it's not young people's fault; I have never been jealous of Diana Taurasi and Lauren Jackson. I'm glad we took on the struggle for them.
Q: From your time playing at Far Rockaway to your present position as a hoops analyst at ESPN, how do you think Title IX has affected women's sports in general?
A: First and foremost, you and I would not be having this conversation without Title IX. Besides voting, it's the single most important law for women. It gave women a chance to compete, to gain respect. It gave them a chance to have educational opportunities for young people. It's amazing.
Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman grew up playing hoops in Harlem and at Far Rockaway HS in Queens, where she was known as one of the top players in the city - male or female. After she graduated from high school in 1976, Lieberman became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history when she played on the team that won a silver medal at Montreal.
Lieberman attended Old Dominion University from 1976-80, and was the first Lady Monarch to earn a full athletic scholarship. She won back-to-back national championships and an NIT title, and became the first two-time women's national player of the year. She scored 2,430 points, grabbed 1,167 rebounds, dished 983 assists and had 700 steals in just 134 games.
Q: Did you see any impact of Title IX as a high school basketball player? Were the boys' and girls' programs in your school equal?
A: I had the opportunity to play because Far Rockaway was very good and very competitive. You could see a little bit of impact; as slight as it was, it was progress. I think for us, they did the best they could. Did we get the same as the boys? No. I'd be lying to you if I said we had anything close to equality. We had a basketball, softball and field hockey team - but we had teams. Some schools didn't have money to have teams.
Maybe I didn't know that we didn't have equality because we were just happy to play at that time and it wasn't about how cool your uniform was. All we cared about was that we got to play 25 games, play in the PSAL and we got to play basketball.
Q: You played in a few pro leagues that folded after college. When you played in the WNBA at age 38, did you think any of the younger players took for granted the fact that they had all the opportunities to play basketball?
A: No, they're not supposed to know that. It's like young people knowing about slavery, the Holocaust, other social issues. They probably don't because it didn't affect them and they're living in today's world and it's a narrow world, but you can't hold it against them because it's not anything they are living through now. Again, it's not young people's fault; I have never been jealous of Diana Taurasi and Lauren Jackson. I'm glad we took on the struggle for them.
Q: From your time playing at Far Rockaway to your present position as a hoops analyst at ESPN, how do you think Title IX has affected women's sports in general?
A: First and foremost, you and I would not be having this conversation without Title IX. Besides voting, it's the single most important law for women. It gave women a chance to compete, to gain respect. It gave them a chance to have educational opportunities for young people. It's amazing.
