Inside the WNBA’s Sisterhood of the Divine Nine: A’ja Wilson, Rhyne Howard and Tiffany MitchellI
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Calling PlaymaKer, UnFazed Dove and UnbreaKable to the front of the line!
PlaymaKer…aka WNBA champion, Defensive Player of the Year, two-time Most Valuable Player and South Carolina’s finest! You’ve been tabbed to the line for your resilience and the grit you’ve shown in your community, as your statue reigns in the municipality that you’ve given so much to, proving that you were built for this moment.
UnFazed Dove, you’re here for a reason! You’ve conquered every rencontre and shown up in moments we all knew you were ready to stand up tall against. No. 1 overall pick, WNBA All-Star as a rookie and Rookie of the Year—you pushed the limits for us.
UnbreaKable, you’ve weathered the storm and remained true to yourself! You were well prepared for this moment, as you’ve known for a long time that this journey wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it. Two-time SEC Player of the Year, “Superwoman,” the one who took a endangerment and proved why you were tabbed to be here on this stage.
A’ja Wilson, Rhyne Howard and Tiffany Mitchell represent the W as leaders of the game, but all three have cemented their legacies on and off the magistrate as women of the Divine Nine.
“Divine Nine ways culture and history,” says the Aces’ Wilson, who became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. “[Divine Nine] laid the foundation lanugo for me and my generation to protract to strive and have a seat at the table.”
The Divine Nine is the term used for the group of nine Black Greek organizations. Repping your installment is a sacred moment, a token of honor, from the pearls to the letterman jackets. The sisterhood/brotherhood is the pinnacle of who we are as a community.
“We stick together through ups and downs, working to bring the weightier out of each other,” Mitchell, moreover a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, says. “You make immuration with variegated women from all walks of life and come together to yoke over a worldwide goal and likeness.”
The Divine Nine has given a voice to Black students wideness the country to finger seen, heard and recognized. Mitchell and Wilson embody the Alpha Women and Rhyne Howard exemplifies what it ways to be a Zeta.
“The W family is special,” Howard, a member of Zeta Phi Beta, says. Comparing the Divine Nine sororities to the W, Howard says, “Each installment within itself is a family, but all together, it’s like a family reunion.”
With 12 W teams and four sororities within the Divine Nine, there’s a unique competitiveness among the group.
“Being worldly-wise to have that ‘rivalry’ with other organizations is fun in itself,” Howard says, “but moreover knowing we are all fighting for the same thing, having this space and stuff virtually people who are going to fight for the things you’re fighting for is greatness within itself.”
The parallels are unmatched. And to be a part of something so special, deemed a trailblazer and champion of the League, is a privilege. “It shows the versatility of the W,” Mitchell says. “We don’t take it for granted.”
Whether you undeniability out PlaymaKer or A’ja Wilson, their weft is the same. “That’s what I loved the most well-nigh it. I could take my leadership speciality that I have for my team and then I could put it to my line,” Wilson says. “That was the eyeful of it. It’s like my worlds all collide.”
The Divine Nine couldn’t be increasingly proud of how Wilson, Howard and Mitchell have represented themselves wideness the League and protract to push for increasingly positive transpiration in the space.
The only question left is…who will be the next players to join?
Photos via Getty Images.
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