Nike’s Million Dollar Pledge For The Future Of Women In Sports

By: Andrés López

Manhattan, NY – We like to say we’re in the business of telling stories. Under any other circumstance (and in a usual NBA coverage day) we’d sit here and tell you about the game, the players, the dunks, the no-look passes, and perhaps how a player cussed on national television during our postgame interview (we’re looking at you, Josh Hart).

In any other circumstance, we’d tell you about our trip to New York with our friends at Nike, how well they hosted us, the sneakers, the streetball games, and everything in between. 

But every now and then, you find a story so special that you can’t help but share it. Since we’re in the business of telling stories, we’d be failing at our job if we didn’t broadcast the amazing story of how Nike is ensuring a future for women in basketball; and it all starts with a single, powerful woman: Chiene Jones. 

A legend in the New York basketball scene, you might have heard of Chiene as the women’s basketball assistant coach at NYU; where she helped the team advance to the Sweet 16 on her first year on the job (after being a standout player for NYU herself). She’s also coached Gersh’s girls’ team to a NYvsNYchampionship that they look to defend this year. Yet you could argue that her biggest accomplishment is the one getting the least attention on mainstream media: Grow Our Game. In their own words:

“Grow Our Game is a free program that is empowering the next generation of young girls to become fierce, amazing leaders through confidence, passion and sisterhood, all while learning the game of basketball. Chienecreated Grow Our Game after seeing families being exploited by pay-to-play options and young girls, particularly from underserved communities, not receiving the proper instruction and support they needed”.

With a very limited budget (based solely on donations and often money out of her own pocket) Chiene has kept this program afloat, providing girls that would otherwise never get a chance, with an opportunity to play, develop, and succeed both in sports and in life. Many of these girls have gone on to attend college on basketball scholarships as a result of Chiene’s efforts; something that touches her (and us) deeply.

During our (very quick) trip to cover NYvsNY one of the highlights was to stop for a second, and listen to Chiene’s story, and how her efforts are bearing fruit while changing the lives of these at-risk girls. This is where Nike comes in.

As part of their commitment to women in sports, Nike has pledged 1 million dollars throughout the next 3 years in support to programs like Grow Our Game. In doing so, they are providing a wider window for these girls to access these life-changing opportunities and allowing them to dream of what could be a life in sports. A dream many of us in this business can often take for granted. This year, 179 girls from ages 4-11 will take part in Grow Our Game, and start their journey towards a better generational future, all thanks to sports.

So, we tip our hats to Nike; for taking social responsibility one step further and actually employing their resources not only monetarily, but by merely telling the story. As storytellers, the least we can do is be a vessel, and tell the story again.