Former WNBA players and officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department came together Saturday to host the “Play Like a Girl” basketball clinic for girls within the community.
The program, hosted in partnership with the National Police Athletics/Activities League and Servcom, a nonprofit created by former WNBA star Rushia Brown aimed to highlight the importance of being involved within one’s community and to help redefine the phrase “play like a girl,” which has often been used as an insult.
“We want to take control of the narrative and have young ladies understand, when we say ‘play like a girl’ now, that means you play like Caitlin Clark, you play like Angel Reese, like A’ja Wilson (and) like Kelsey Plum,” Brown said.
“All of these women are amazing on the court and off,” she added. “So, when someone says, ‘you play like a girl’ it means something positive.”
Around 20 girls made it out of their beds that morning and into the JTV Hill Center to learn skills and drills from former WNBA players like Brown, Amber Harris, Helen Darling and Robin Threatt. Depending on the player they were working with, the girls either learned the importance of dribbling and ball control, completing a layup or playing defense like an elite player.
“I think it’s always really good to give back to the community and give back to the younger girls that aspire to play basketball one day,” Threatt said. “I think the entire staff here are great role models that have played collegiate basketball as well as professional basketball. So I think we have a lot of insight to give back to the young girls.”
For the parents in attendance, many were grateful that IMPD put together the event and noted how rare it is to see these types of events put on for girls.
“I thought this event was super dope. I wasn’t expecting to see the WNBA players. I thought it was only going to be like the police officers running it,” Ramone Eubank said. “Now that women’s sports are becoming as big as it is, I think it is good for the young girls to see that and to see that it’s not just strictly focused on boys.”
Officers from IMPD said they felt the event was a success, especially in helping make these girls feel “empowered” and helped bring the community together.
Officer Tarah Butcher said she wanted to showcase that they’re also a part of the community and that people can feel safe around them.
“Typically when the community sees the police, it’s probably on the worst day of their life and one of the worst moments of their lives. My hope is that they can see that police in a different atmosphere and a different light and know we’re human too,” she said.
