Back in mid-April, the latest women’s basketball draft prospects had just arrived at the 2024 WNBA Draft to a sea of cameras, hoping to catch glimpses of one of the most anticipated classes in recent memory.
For The Win was among the masses, preparing for the dozens of answers we heard that night about the group’s future basketball careers, when Cameron Brink, a 6-foot-5 center from Stanford, walked in. Brink seemingly glided down the orange carpet, instantly commanding our attention. But it wasn’t her sleek black-and-white one-shoulder dress and heels that had us seemingly entranced. It was how she carried herself — confident, poised, aware.
We later found out why Brink left such an impression when we asked her later that night about the legacy she hopes to leave when she plays in the WNBA. The answer wasn’t about herself. She immediately used her newfound platform to highlight other players.
“I’ve said this a lot today, but we really have to look back at the women before us,” Brink said after being drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks. “So, I just want to give my props to the Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes’, the Lisa Leslies. They’re why I’m here …”
I asked Cameron Brink what kind of legacy she hopes to leave on the #WNBA when her career is done.
During her answer, she paid tribute to those who came before her:
Dawn Staley
Sheryl Swoopes
Lisa Leslie#WNBADraft @WNBA @ForTheWin pic.twitter.com/Flmf7MfWHH— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) April 16, 2024
Without hesitating, Brink had done something many athletes in the spotlight take years to nail down. Speaking up for others has become a staple of her young career. It never comes off as an afterthought but as a conscientious effort.
Over the last several months, numerous examples show her using her platform to shift the growing number of narratives and WNBA tropes surrounding the league and its players.
When we chatted with Brink again recently, we had to ask: Was there a moment or an event that made her want to be more vocal? What was the inflection point?
“Honestly, it’s just like every day in the locker room when we’re all just talking to each other, and we have pretty frank conversations with each other. And we’re like, ‘We just want things to change,'” Brink told For The Win while promoting her partnership with EVO Implantable Collamer® Lenses (ICL).
“I feel like we just need to balance,” she added. “And this is a societal thing. So, who knows if it ever changes? But it just needs to be a balance between what our perceived value is because of how we look, how we dress, how we present ourselves to the world … and our other value … who we are as people, who we are as athletes, business women.”
Yesterday, @cameronbrink22 joined the @boardroom & @cnbcevents for a panel on Investing in Women: Female Sports Fandom. #GamePlan24 pic.twitter.com/fcZPPPWvXE
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) September 11, 2024
After spending just a few minutes with Brink, it’s not hard to conclude that she has a fundamental grasp of the dynamics that affect not only her but also teammates and colleagues across the WNBA who may not have the same lived experiences as she does.
It’s seemingly why she spoke up in a recent interview about her quest to make the WNBA a safe space for everyone, acknowledging that it’s a privilege to look and dress like she does.
“I got a lot of backlash for saying something like that, which I do not care,” Brink shared without flinching. “Like, I will say that over and over again … I acknowledge my privilege and for marketing, like I acknowledge the privilege of being conventionally like white, blonde hair, blue-eyed.”
“But there’s just so many other people in this league who quite frankly are, you know, putting up better numbers than me that aren’t injured right now, like me, that deserve the same kind of exposure in the market to other people.”
With that statement, Brink pulled a proverbial mic drop during our time with her, leaving a lasting impression. It became very apparent that she had no regrets about using her platform.
When given the chance to explore the depths it could take her, she would show up as she had when we crossed paths in April — fearless.
