Last week, Sue Bird celebrated the Seattle Storm’s 2020 WNBA title win with her girlfriend, United States women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Rapinoe supported her partner throughout the entire shortened WNBA season in Florida, which saw Bird win her fourth WNBA championship.
In an interview with Don Riddell and Paul Gittings of CNN, Bird spoke open and honestly about how the WNBA has always been more progressive in terms of diversity and inclusion than that of Rapinoe’s sport.
“Even though we’re female athletes playing at a high level, our worlds, you know, the soccer world and the basketball world are just totally different,” Bird told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell.
“And to be blunt it’s the demographic of who’s playing. Women’s soccer players generally are cute little White girls while WNBA players, we are all shapes and sizes … a lot of Black, gay, tall women … there is maybe an intimidation factor and people are quick to judge it and put it down,” added Bird.”
Bird is now a four-time WNBA Champ.
Bird played in 11 of the Storm’s 20 regular season games averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 assists.
She set a WNBA record with a career-high 16 assists in the WNBA Finals in Game 1 against the Aces.
