she was the first player to be signed in the wnba and go on to become a three-time
mvp three-time olympic gold medalist and be inducted into the women's basketball hall of fame
along her journey cheryl swoops also had to deal with balancing motherhood with her career
major financial issues and coming to terms with her sexuality american former professional
basketball player cheryl denise swoops was born in brownfield texas from a very young age she knew
her life would be different but that belief had nothing to do with basketball cheryl wanted to be
a dallas cowboys cheerleader or a flight attendant when she grew up she was raised by a strict mother
who would only allow cheryl to leave the house if she was going to play basketball with her
older brother it was at this time that she started learning and loving the game at the age of seven
after watching her brother go off to college and play basketball on a scholarship and seeing how
proud their mother was of him cheryl decided that she was going to be next unfortunately growing
up she didn't get to watch women play on tv and didn't really believe women could do such a thing
she became a big michael jordan fan though and made sure to position herself in front of the tv
every time he played to learn as much as she could from her basketball role model
initially recruited by the university of texas cheryl ended up leaving the school shortly after
her arrival without playing a single game she would later reveal that the main reason she
went there was because that's what everyone else wanted her to do she then enrolled at south plains
college after playing there for two years where she was named the national junior college player
of the year she again transferred to texas tech in 1993 cheryl along with her team won the ncaa
women's basketball championship cheryl herself scored a record 47 points in the championship
game she continued to stack up awards achieving the nae smith college player of the year award
the honda sports award and the wbca player of the year after she finished her eligibility there was
nowhere for her to play professionally at home so she chose to play in italy before returning
to the us to finish her degree cheryl was named to the usa national team and competed in the
1994 world championships the team won a close final game against australia to earn the bronze
medal she would go on to be named to several other national teams and win several more medals in 1995
cheryl became the first women's basketball player to have a nike shoe named after her
the nike air swoops were developed with function and style in mind the original design featured a
strap on the back of the sneaker smartly installed to assist wearers with pulling the sneaker on
without damaging their nails the light and sleek shoe also offered great ankle support and allowed
athletes to move across the court with ease also at this time cheryl married her high
school sweetheart they would go on to have one son before divorcing in 1999. after finding out
she was pregnant she told espn in 2019 my first thought was oh my gosh i'm going to be a mom
because i'd always wanted that my second thought was but i'm letting the league down
the league had done all of this marketing and hype around me being the first player
and now i'm pregnant she didn't tell anybody the news until the third trimester she had a
conversation with the league and also with nike they were both very supportive and didn't put
any undue pressure on her cheryl continued as a member of the usa team at the 1996 olympics held
in atlanta georgia she gained national prominence when she won the gold medal with the team
and became a focal point of the fledgling wnba she went on to add two more gold medals
to her collection in 2000 and 2004. cheryl was recruited for the houston comets of the wnba
during the 1997 inaugural season she returned only six weeks after giving birth to her son to
play the last third of the inaugural season and led the comets in their first of four straight
wnba championships thus solidifying the team as the first wnba dynasty right out of the gate
her extraordinary scoring and defensive ability made her the first three-time wnba mvp and the
first three-time wnba defensive player of the year while in the midst of celebrating all her
professional successes cheryl was also dealing with a major personal failure her finances were a
mess she was in a lot of debt and eventually found herself filing for bankruptcy in 2004. at one
point there was a rumor going around that she blew through 50 million dollars however she vehemently
denied it what her records did show is that she owed over 700 000 including 275 000 to the irs
when her chapter 13 bankruptcy claim was dismissed by september the next year
she had not paid all of her creditors in full another sad moment was the one that reportedly
brought her financial woes to life cheryl failed to pay the 300 rent on a storage unit
in west texas and as a result lost years of memorabilia from her basketball career
including awards jerseys fan mail and her college diploma
she attributed some problems to a bad accountant but also admitted a loss of control in an
interview with the new york times growing up not having a lot of money i was suddenly in a position
to change my lifestyle and help those around me but i didn't surround myself with the right
people i got in a position where it was like oh wow what happened in october 2005 cheryl came out
of the closet and announced she was gay since some people assumed that because she had previously
been married to a man the more appropriate label should be bisexual cheryl adamantly denied being
bisexual however many would be left scratching their heads in the years to come when she entered
into another relationship no one saw coming we'll get into those details a little later
she and her partner former basketball player and houston comets assistant coach alyssa scott
got together while cheryl was still under her tutelage cheryl later admitted that it wasn't
the smartest decision or something she was proud of their relationship apparently led to alyssa
resigning from her position the previous year it was becoming more difficult to hide as time
went on and they didn't want to pretend anymore what cheryl did continue to struggle with was
reconciling her relationship with her christian faith that's probably one of the toughest battles
that i deal with on a daily basis but i believe you are who you are and you can't control your
feelings as far as who you fall in love with i'm a good person i treat people well i don't kill i
don't rob i don't steal i try to do the right thing i'm okay with it in 2008 cheryl signed
with a seattle storm ending her 11-year career with the houston comets the experience wouldn't
last long as she would be cut from the team the very next year this was the beginning of the end
in other aspects of cheryl's life as well the end of her contract meant the end of the money flow so
cheryl once again found herself struggling to pay bills her relationship with alyssa was also on its
last legs she did try to continue her career in greece for a short time two days after her 40th
birthday in 2011 sources claim that cheryl was preparing to return to the wnba in anticipation
of an official signing announcement from the tulsa shock in august 40 year old cheryl hit a
buzzer-beating shot to edge the los angeles sparks and end the shock's record 20-game losing streak
cheryl became an unrestricted free agent after that season while no official announcement was
made when she began blogging at the shape magazine website during the 2012 olympic summer games
she identified herself as quote a former professional basketball player
in 2013 cheryl decided to give coaching a try when she became head coach of the loyola university
chicago women's basketball team however by the spring of 2016 loyola announced that it
was investigating her of alleged mistreatment after the school newspaper reported that 10 of
the team's 12 players had either transferred or wanted a release from their scholarships
one player in particular sent a five-page letter to the ncaa describing the hostile environment
and detailing numerous instances in which cheryl allegedly pushed the players to a
mental and physical breaking point the player also alleged she was humiliated by cheryl in front of
her teammates and made to fear repercussions if she objected to her coaching practices
by july loyola had announced it had fired cheryl as a result of the investigation
but declined to say what the results revealed also that year cheryl was inducted into the
naismith basketball hall of fame she returned to her alma mater texas tech
after being hired as the women's basketball program's director of player development
in 2017 she would go on to be promoted to regular assistant coach that same
summer cheryl wed chris uncle show an old male friend after being engaged for several years
naturally this came as a shocking move to people who vividly recall her coming out back in 2005.
she addressed it in the espn films 949 docu-series a few years prior i can honestly say i'm not
confused i am loving and being loved by who i'm supposed to love and who gives me that love back
today cheryl continues to stay booked and busy at the start of 2022 she served as a commentator with
athletes unlimited a brand new women's basketball league over the course of the five-week season she
fell in love with everything about it and hopes that moving forward the wnba will take a page out
of their book she's also a product line manager for nike helping to design and create products
specifically for nike athletes thanks for watching please like share and comment also don't forget
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