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Chicago Sky coach James Wade describes racism experiences, WNBA community offers support

By Josh Hyber

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 11: Chicago Sky head coach James Wade yells during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Staples Center on August 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 11: Chicago Sky head coach James Wade yells during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Staples Center on August 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /
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Wade: ‘Racism is a world problem’

On May 31, six days after the tragic killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, James Wade took to Twitter to voice his feelings and express a want for change.

“You always hear stories. We’ve seen things before. But in the manner in which it happened, it’s too hard to put into words,” the Chicago Sky head coach and general manager said in a video posted to his team’s Twitter account. “To hear him, to see him … it was so tough to watch.”

Wade did not use the word racism in the four-and-a-half-minute clip, but he did convey a want for he and his son to be treated as equals and the need for them to be treated as equals.

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“For us to be better, for us to improve as a society, everybody has to have the same value,” he said.

Wade has his own stories.

In a first-hand letter published by The Players’ Tribune on Friday, the Tennessee native chronicled two life experiences he has had with overt racism — once while in his early 20s and once just recently while on a plane with his team heading to the WNBA bubble before the start of the 2020 season.

“Racism has long been viewed as a Black problem … but I hope people are finally beginning to understand that it’s not,” Wade wrote. “It’s not. It’s an American problem. It’s a world problem.

“It’s everyone’s problem.”

After the piece was published, the WNBA community — players, coaches and reporters — came to Wade’s support.

Here are a few:

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