Wnba Star Ready To Take On New Duty Swoopes Wants To Be Role Model For Moms
With baby in tow, Olympic star Sheryl Swoopes plans to prove she can be a good mother and help the Houston Comets win a WNBA title at the same time.
“I want people to look at me now and say that Sheryl is not only a great athlete, but No. 1 she’s a mother,” the 6-foot forward said Tuesday from her home in Lubbock, Texas.
Swoopes, a former All-American at Texas Tech, was assigned to the Comets for the inaugural WNBA season after leading the U.S. women’s team to gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
She gave birth on June 25 to a son, Jordan Eric Jackson, but says she’d like to be in uniform with the Comets by August. The league’s playoffs start Aug. 28.
Swoopes is eager to set an example for other working mothers.
“There are a lot of women out there … that are working and raising a family and are still working moms, but not a lot of people recognize them or know who they are,” Swoopes said.
“I think a person like myself, they can say, ‘Well, if Sheryl can do that, she’s setting a statement for the rest of us.’ If it’s something they want to do, they should do it.”
She’ll have to find time between workouts for diaper changes and feedings. For now, the new mom is breast feeding. She says she’ll probably switch to bottles in three or four weeks.
“I’ve worked things out,” she said. “With all the appearances I have to do before, they have to understand that I do have a child and I’ve made it clear that wherever I go, if he’s able and my doctors say, ‘Yeah, it’s OK,’ he’ll be going with me.”
If the baby gets sick, mom will stay put.
“If it reaches the point where something is wrong with him and he can’t go, well, I won’t be going either,” Swoopes said. “Right now that’s the plan, that he’ll travel with me.”
At the beginning, she plans to play about 20 minutes a game. She’s been working out the last few weeks.
“I’m obviously not in the type of shape I want to be in to go back and play, but I’m in good enough shape to go back and be able to contribute to my team,” Swoopes said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to take them to a championship this season.”
Swoopes, who scored a record 47 points in Texas Tech’s 1993 NCAA championship game victory over Ohio State, led the NCAA in scoring that season at 28.1 points and averaged 23 points in the 1993-94 season with Bari, Italy.
She got excited about joining her teammates after flying to Houston for a recent game at The Summit.
“The fans were going crazy during the game, and when they introduced me I got tears in my eyes,” Swoopes said. “It made me ready to play just sitting on the sidelines. It made me more anxious to get out there and play with them.”