Notable Lesbians
This week’s Notable Lesbian is:
Sue Wicks
November 26, 1966 -
Sue Wicks is a former professional basketball player for the WNBA. She played for the New York Liberty from 1997 (the league’s inaugural year) to 2002. 
Currently, she is an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY. In 182 WNBA games played, Wicks scored 823 points, for a total of 4.5 points per game, had 182 assists for one assist per game, recovered 788 rebounds, for a total of 4.3 per game, and had 158 blocks, for a total of 0.90 blocks per game. She finished her WNBA career as the number eight leader of all times in shots blocked. Wicks was one of the few players willing to discuss lesbianism (Wicks herself is openly lesbian) in the WNBA during her career. “I can’t say how many players are gay,” noted Wicks in a 2000 Village Voice article, “but it would be easier to count the straight ones.”
Interesting tid bit:
Wicks played for Rutgers University from 1984 to 1988. While at Rutgers, she was named a Kodak All-American in 1986, 1987 and 1988, and in 1988 she won the Naismith, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Women’s Basketball News Service and Street & Smith’s National Player of the Year awards. Wicks was named to the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2005. She is only one of two Rutgers women’s basketball players to have her jersey retired.
“I like it when they give insight into athletes, and I think it’s great when they say, ‘Here’s a player and her husband and baby.’ But I’d love to see a couple of women profiled, too, especially if they had a great, solid relationship, just to show that in a positive light.” ~ Sue Wicks on the fact that the WNBA almost exclusively promotes ball players who are moms or married.
If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, e-maill me at lyndsey.darcangelo@451press.net or use the contact form above and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.
sue wicks, wnba, new york liberty, rutgers university, st. francis college, lesbianism, village voice
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