When it comes to basketball, Candace Parker has literally done it all. Sheโs a two-time NCAA champion, two-time WNBA champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, two-time WNBA MVP, WNBA Finals MVP, WNBA All-Star Game MVP, WNBA Rookie of the Year, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and serves Shaq regular doses of humble pie as an analyst for Turner Sports.
Suggested Reading
And now, after experiencing unprecedented success both on and off the court, sheโs moving behind the camera for her first executive producing effort on the upcoming documentary Title IX: 37 Words That Changed America. Premiering on TBS ahead of the menโs Final Four on Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m. ET, the doc explores the impact of the groundbreaking law ahead of its 50th anniversary. Parker discussed why this project is so important to her in an interview with the Associated Press.
โI sit here because of Title IX. Although we have so many wins, we have so much further to go. Thatโs why we went with having the Title IX story told through my eyes so that you can see if Title IX didnโt exist, I wouldnโt exist,โ Parker said.
For those unfamiliar, Title IX is a federal civil rights law thatreads: โNo person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.โ
As influential as Title IX has been and as far as womenโs sports has come, thereโs still obvious inequalities in how menโs and womenโs college sports are treated. For example, look no further than the difference in facilities between โthe bubblesโ of last yearโs NCAA basketball tournaments. The women were put in subpar conditions and for some reason not allowed to use the highly marketable โMarch Madnessโ slogan.
โSomething as simple as March Madness, right? Like, now women can use that. Thatโs unbelievable. Itโs 2022,โ Parker said. โBut things are changing. But it still doesnโt take away that we still have so much farther to go. I think thatโs the whole point of doing this documentary is if you invest, itโs not a charity, itโs an investment. And itโs an honest investment of trying to make it work. And I think for so long, we just existed; womenโs sports existed as something that had to be there. And now we look at it as an investment, and then I think we can start moving things forward.โ
The film includes interviews with womenโs sports pioneer Billie Jean King, basketball hall of famer Lisa Leslie, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
โThereโs a number of influential voices that I think I have to pinch myself to realize that theyโre a part of it,โ Parker said. โTo have Billie Jean King, like the 10-year-old girl that did a biography project on her, I just think itโs just so special.
Following the premiere of Title IX: 37 Words That Changed America, live from New Orleans TBS will air a special edition of its sports talk show The Arena hosted by Cari Champion and featuring guests Parker; athletic director at Dillard University, Dr. Kiki Barnes; NFL superstar Tyrann Mathieu and hip-hop mogul Master P discussing the 50th anniversary of Title IX.
Title IX: 37 Words That Changed America premieres Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m. ET on TBS.
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.