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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jaylyn Sherrod went from shooting layups for Ramsay High School’s basketball team to hoisting up the WNBA Championship trophy and now, her legacy has been immortalized back where it all began.
Hundreds gathered at Ramsay Tuesday night to celebrate the inaugural “Jay Day” and watch as the school retired Sherrod’s jersey.
“A little girl from Pratt City made it all the way to the WNBA championship so we are extremely proud of her,” Sherrod’s former Ramsey basketball coach Ronnie Jackson said.
Sherrod shared her own words of encouragement as she prepared to see her retired jersey for the first time.
“Never let anyone tell you no,” Sherrod said. “So many people told me no. I’m still hearing it to this day. That’s really all my story is I just kept my head down and kept going. I keep pushing still to this day, trying to just be better at something or achieve something new. and I really just never let anybody tell me no.”
Jackson said Sherrod has been deserving of having her jersey retired. The championship was just the cherry on top.
“It was going to be made whether she won or not,” Jackson said. “We were so excited for her to even reach the WNBA. And so for her to win, it was like icing on the cake. And so, yes, when they do great things, we’re going to let them know and let the city know that great things come from out of Birmingham.”
It means a lot to current Ramsey players there to see the jersey retirement like Kennedi Wesley.
“It be so much bad in the community and stuff,” Wesley said. “So like having a person who like had the same struggles as it’s been through the same things, it really like gave us hope as girls and just making sure we believe in ourselves.”
Prior to the big day, less than 24 hours after becoming a WNBA champion to be exact, Sherrod spoke with WVTM 13 about what the win meant.
“To be on a team that won a championship, I think more than anything, it’s a blessing. Just trying to take it all in,” Sherrod said.
It’s the point guard’s first year playing professional basketball with the New York Liberty, yet she acknowledges that Birmingham is the reason why.
“So many people who were a part of my process came from home. I almost think about it like their hard work paid off as well,” Sherrod said.
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