Chiney Ogwumike had her opportunities. When the Los Angeles Sparks center and No. 1 pick in the 2014 WNBA draft decided to take a break, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
Priority No. 1: Let her body recover. Ogwumike suffered two major injuries — one to her right knee in 2015, another to her Achilles in 2017 — and felt that she had never made a full recovery. That was why she decided to opt out of the WNBA's 2020 season in the Bradenton, Fla., bubble.
Priority No. 2 was to continue to use her platform to fight for social justice, and in her mind, there was no platform greater than the one she has now as a broadcaster at ESPN.
Ogwumike did not play this season, but as players wore social justice messages on the backs of their jerseys, knelt during the national anthem and used their press conference time to bring awareness to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, the WNBA star stood in solidarity with her peers from afar.
The Daily News recently caught up with Ogwumike as she was promoting a voting education campaign sponsored by Crown Royal.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)
