WNBA great Sue Bird urges using sports as 'tool for education'
MANILA, Philippines – WNBA and Team USA legend Sue Bird has impacted the growth of women’s basketball immensely in her two-decade career as a player with the Seattle Storm and the national team.
Even now as she shifts into a different role, being named global ambassador for the upcoming 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Germany, the 42-year-old wants to continue helping the game grow.
Asked about expanding the sport in developing countries like the Philippines, Bird shared a simple mindset.
“I think what we were talking about for young people, in terms of what sports can give young people, if more of those [people] that are in charge viewed it that way, I think it would change where they put their resources, where they’re able to maybe build a budget, to put the importance on sports, especially for little girls,” said Bird, referring to an earlier point where she described sport as a good life teacher for kids.
“I wish people would view [sport] more as a tool — a tool for education, a tool to better yourself to become a more well-rounded person overall,” she added.
A decorated athlete and being well-versed in the international game, Bird also advised to get more people involved – particularly those who have seen a lot of development on their end – to learn from their experience and implement the same things.
“Through that, you know, hopefully, you can bring in people from other countries that have already developed things, for knowledge.” she said.
“Because that’s what it is, you have to be able to understand, to gain knowledge. I feel like in women’s sports, a lot of the time, there is just that gap that exists because things around women’s sports are different from men’s — not worse, not better, just different. And you have to have knowledge around the game itself, and that’s more specific to [the] if and wants, if the country was building in terms of like a national team.”
Bird was part of a vastly successful Team USA program, which has them dominating the women’s hoops scene in international play.
As the world starts to play catch-up, the four-time WNBA champion can only hope that change starts from the ground-up, with little girls steered in the right direction.
“I think the best way to start [the development of women’s basketball], is to put the emphasis on why this is good for younger people,” she said.
Locally, women’s basketball has been thriving in recent years with the success of the Gilas Pilipinas women’s team. The Filipina hoopers are competing next in the Asian Games slated later this month.
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