Bethany Donaphin started her basketball career on a blacktop while growing up in New York and eventually worked her way up to the WNBA in 2003. However, when she first started playing, she wasn’t able to seamlessly step onto the court with her peers.
Donaphin found she had to prove herself to her male counterparts in order to be picked for a team or passed the ball. It was a struggle to work toward her goals when she wasn’t wanted on the courts and had no representation.
Now, as WNBA Head of League Operations, Donaphin and the league are making an effort to eliminate the challenges for young girls that many have experienced. The new initiative ‘Line ‘Em Up’ paints the WNBA three-point line orange on park courts across the country. The initiative was launched by unveiling the first painted court at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Thursday.
“I’m excited about what this initiative means in terms of access and representation,” Donaphin said. “I think it’s just further evidence of the way that we want to be able to connect with young girls who are inspired by the WNBA.”
The afternoon featured two local New York basketball organizations, WNBA Chief Marketing Officer Phil Cook, Donaphin, as well as two hosts and a DJ to keep the event lively and the fans engaged.
Three girls from both of the local teams debuted the orange arc with a game of knockout after the tarps covering the court were removed. Some players also battled 1-on-1 with the winner receiving a prize from New York Liberty guard Marquesha Davis before the teams faced off in a full 5-on-5 game.
Fans were welcomed on the court during halftime to shoot a half-court shot for a chance to win a shirt that read ‘The W is coming to the Park.’
The blacktop continued to see action following the event, with people banking shots off the backboards, which were all black except for the letters ‘WNBA’ accented in orange.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Alan Fleisher, head coach of the New York Grit club. “Because even today, the girls that hoop feel intimidated about playing outdoors in the park, and I love the fact that this initiative is taking place, we want to see more girls in the park playing basketball.”
The WNBA released a short film ahead of the launch, highlighting that women have always been playing at the park, but now there’s going to be something that shows they belong there. Cook explained that this is the first step to create the representation that young girls lack.
“When we briefed the idea, we knew we wanted a program that’s gonna be repeatable and easy to execute,” Cook said. “Something that was representative and authentic to the game, authentic to the game of women’s basketball. So the idea of laying down the WNBA three-point line in our color of orange seemed like such a simple solution.”
The league will continue to formally launch the initiative and share the blueprints with every team in order to bring it to different cities. The goal is that eventually there will be orange lines painted on every park court and driveway in the country. There are currently two parks in New York that have adopted the orange, with four more coming soon.
“My hope is that one day we’re gonna have WNBA players in the league who stepped onto one of these courts, they saw one of these lines and they dreamt big,” Donaphin said.
