WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Napheesa Collier is using her platform for more than basketball. Collier is an ambassador for Level The Court, a health equity initiative by Opill, which is the first over-the-counter daily birth control pill. In collaboration with the Black Women’s Health Imperative and the WNBA, she’s working to empower young Black women to take control of their reproductive health. In our conversation, she opened up about what this movement means to her and why she’s using her platform to push the conversation forward.
BHM: How did you first get involved with the Level of the Court initiative?
Napheesa: So, I got involved with them through Opill. It’s a partnership between Opill, the WNBA, and the Black Women’s Health Imperative. I just thought this was such a great initiative because the goal around Opill is to bring awareness to women’s reproductive health, especially with the Black Women’s Health Imperative. You know, they’re often an underserved population of people, and so to get them information about their reproductive rights and their options is essential.
BHM: What does being an ambassador for Level The Court mean to you personally?
Napheesa: It means a lot to me personally. It obviously directly affects my life because I have a daughter, and I want her to grow up learning and knowing about her reproductive health and her rights, and not having it be such a taboo subject.
I think that’s one goal of Opill as well as to take away the stigma of ‘this should be something that isn’t talked about publicly or talked about at all’.
Even with doctors, it can be embarrassing for people. So, kind of getting away from that and learning that this is normal and to know about your body and what options you have, and your reproductive health is really important. So, that’s why it’s really important to me to kind of advocate for that and to bring awareness.
BHM: How do you hope to change how reproductive health is discussed? How do you want conversations to evolve for future generations, including the one in which your daughter will grow up?
Napheesa: I think it’s kind of what I touched on earlier, just having [reproductive health] be a part of everyday conversation, where the first time you’re learning about it isn’t if something is wrong, and you have to talk to your doctor.
Knowing what your body is supposed to be going through, knowing that you have options, and having it be a talk you have early on, honestly. Because it’s something that every woman goes through, and to learn about your body, I think, is a health and safety issue.
I want to hopefully change that in the next generation, so that, again, it’s not a taboo subject, but something that we learn about at home, in school, and with our doctors, especially—just feeling comfortable asking any questions that we have and not that it’s something to be embarrassed about.
BHM: When you were younger, did conversations around reproductive health feel open and supportive, or did they create discomfort and uncertainty for you and your peers?
Napheesa: They felt open and supportive. My mom is a nurse, so I think even from an early age, I felt comfortable asking her any questions. She felt comfortable talking about it. I think that’s like a cycle where, you know, whoever is supposed to explain that feels uncomfortable, so they create an environment where maybe this should be hush-hush. My mom worked in health, and we never really had that. I feel really lucky to have grown up with that experience. I know what it should feel like to talk about those things, and so that’s why, again, I want to bring that awareness to other people.
BHM: How do you see the missions of Unrivaled and Level The Court intersecting? What shared values or goals do they have?
Napheesa: I think we align our values where we want women to grow informed about their body and reproductive health, and empower women to do those things. I think both entities are all about empowering women.
BHM: Have you experienced or witnessed bias in healthcare? How do you hope Level The Court and Opill will help dismantle that and build trust for Black women?
Napheesa: I think everyone knows the statistics, especially with birthing levels of Black and Brown women and their mortality rates being so much higher, it’s just obviously really alarming. I think it is essential to know how things should be going and what to look for, like the warning signs in your body.
Where did you learned about reproductive health in your body and all those things growing up, and where did you have more of an understanding about when something might be wrong?
That’s where many bad things might happen if you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know what is supposed to be happening and what’s not because we have no education on it. By bringing awareness and education, I think it’s gonna save lives.
BHM: What are you most looking forward to when visiting the college students, and what do you think they should be getting out of this experience?
Napheesa: I’m looking forward to the question-and-answer portion so that you can see where people are. Hopefully, they feel comfortable asking the questions they want answered. That part will be interesting because we want to make this an open discourse. We want people to feel comfortable with that. So, hopefully, during the interview part, we can make people feel more at home and a safer space where they can ask those questions. That’s where the learning really starts. I know it’s scary to ask those things, especially in front of a crowd and strangers. But hopefully, this is one step toward taking that stigma away.
In part two of this story, we will talk to representatives from the Black Women’s Health Imperative and Opill at another stop on their HBCU tour and hear from students about the Level the Court initiative.
Level the Court
Opill®, Daily Oral Contraceptive Pill
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Unrivaled League
Former Kansas City Cheerleader Dies of Maternal Sepsis
