From "The Sporting News" online site, which rarely mentions women's
sports (let alone the WNBA), here's a question and answer (Q&A)
interview with Nancy Lieberman.

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You can find this article at:
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=442723

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Q & A: NANCY LIEBERMAN
August 6, 2008
Ken Bradley



Ken Bradley sat down Nancy Lieberman, who won a Sliver medal as an 18-
year-old member of the U.S. women's basketball team in 1976:


SPORTING NEWS (SN): When you look back on making the U.S. women's
Olympic basketball team--the first one to compete in the Olympics in
1976--are you amazed that a 17-year-old was playing on that big of a
scale?

NANCY LIEBERMAN (NL): Sometimes I look back on it and, to be honest,
it's surreal that I was a junior in high school and a part of that
team. I don't know if there ever will be another high school player
because there are so many great collegiate players, not to mention
the WNBA players. I remember having to concentrate, the discipline.
You're 17 years old and you're all over the place mentally. You
haven't had the discipline of college yet and you think you're pretty
good, like in your neighborhood, and then reality hits that you're
playing with the best players in the world. You're playing for your
country, there's just so much that goes into something like that, not
only into the trials, but into the moment.

SN: What do you remember most about the moment?

NL: I remember we were in the locker room before the game. And head
coach Billie Moore--a Hall of Fame coach and John Wooden was her
mentor--and Billie was talking to us in the locker room telling
us 'today will change women's basketball for the next 25 years'. You
know, I'm sitting there like a goob going 'I can't see past tomorrow,
and she's telling me this is going to change the game for the next 25
years?' I didn't understand what she was saying. Obviously, shortly
thereafter I got it and realized that I was a part of that charge of
being a gatekeeper for the women's game of basketball.

SN: What was your most lasting experience?

NL: Picking up a charge on Uljana Semjonova, a Hall of Famer, by the
way. She was 7-foot-2, 280 pounds. Everybody was kind of looking for
me, hoping I was still alive. The other thing was--and I'll never
forget--was bending over. You've seen that image in your head so many
times. When you step up on that podium with the pomp and circumstance
and they put that Olympic medal around your neck and it's magical.
It's really hard to describe the emotion of seeing the American flag
and playing for your country. I know it sounds kind of simplistic,
but it's an amazing feeling.

SN: You were also on the 1980 Olympic team that boycotted the Moscow
Games. Was that tough?

NL: It was very difficult because we had gone through all the
qualifying tournaments. We were in training camp in Colorado Springs
when President Carter made the announcement that we were not going to
go to Moscow and it was real hard. It was hard on everybody. It was
one of the most devastating things for myself and I probably didn't
have a handle on politics at that stage of my life. To see all the
athletes who had trained their whole lives for that moment to not get
the opportunity was very devastating.

SN: Which is more rewarding--coaching or playing or working
television?

NL: There's nothing like being a basketball player. There's nothing
like being the athlete. That's the greatest thing you can ever be is
an athlete because you have the chance to determine probability and
outcome. Whether you're playing for a national championship or
playing in the Olympics or WNBA, it doesn't matter. For me, that's
the poignant thing you can be doing. The next most important thing
that you can do to satisfy you drive is you can coach because you're
still in the trenches. You're still risk-reward, you're still making
decisions and trying to make people better. You're trying to teach
them your experiences about the game and how to excel.

SN: Which is more rewarding--coaching or playing or working
television?

NL: There's nothing like being a basketball player. There's nothing
like being the athlete. That's the greatest thing you can ever be is
an athlete because you have the chance to determine probability and
outcome. Whether you're playing for a national championship or
playing in the Olympics or WNBA, it doesn't matter. For me, that's
the poignant thing you can be doing. The next most important thing
that you can do to satisfy you drive is you can coach because you're
still in the trenches. You're still risk-reward, you're still making
decisions and trying to make people better. You're trying to teach
them your experiences about the game and how to excel.

SN: A little more than a week ago, you signed a contract and returned
to the court for a single game in the WNBA. How'd that happen?

NL: We'd been talking about this for a year. I knew that I was going
to be playing in the WNBA this year. I knew that I would be playing
for somebody at some point. We had discussed that they were going to
wait until I turned 50. You know, kind of like a celebration of
health, fitness, all those important aspects that we need to be aware
of. So I had started to train. Last year I was at the All-Star game
and Bill Laimbeer asked if I still played. He said 'Well maybe next
year, if you want to play in the WNBA, I'll sign you.'" So, on July
13 about 1:30 in the morning Bill texted me and asked if I was ready
for my 7-day contract. I said 'Are you serious?' and he said 'Yes'.
He said he needed a few days to get it approved upstairs. It really
made sense because I coached, I was the GM ... little things that
mean something to athletes--they had my number, my No. 10. I just had
such a connection to the Detroit franchise that I thought, you know
what, this would be a wonderful opportunity.

SN: What was it like being back on the court?

NL: It was really kind of cool, the way the whole thing turned out,
how the players treated me, the opponents, players around the league,
coaches around the league. I can't even begin to tell you how much
kindness was extended to me. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't
think I could compete on some level. I wasn't out there to show that
I'm the best player in the WNBA or to make a roster. I think it's
more about celebrating history and inspiring people to do things
outside of their comfort zone. I'm sure there were people
saying 'what is she doing this for?' But I was doing it for all the
right reasons. It was to celebrate life, to celebrate how much I love
this game and the fact that WNBA was so kind and supportive of this
to happen meant everything to me.

SN: You missed your only shot, but did have a couple of assists in
nine minutes. You feel like you held your own?

NL: I would have never gone on the court if I couldn't walk or run.
The birth certificate says 50, but I feel like I'm 35. It's hard for
me to equate 50 with the way I feel physically and the way my body
feels and looks. I was nervous more in pregame shootaround than I was
when I went in the game. The players were in a tough situation
because they have to play me hard--that's the last thing they want to
hear is that I took them off the dribble or hit a shot on them.

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Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved.

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Steven
Sacramento, CA