Let passion be your guide.(My Turn)

Sometimes I think I was put on this earth to beat the odds. It seems God dropped me off at a housing project in North Philadelphia but didn't give me the directions to get out. Nobody is really supposed to get out of North Philly. A lot of people I grew up with are still there. I found that to get out, you have to find your gift or your passion early. It has to guide you. It has to be your companion.

I found my passion when I was 8 years old. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but I picked up a basketball, and the love affair began.

Basketball was my safe haven. I played when I was happy, sad, bored--or simply to forget. I continue to play because I love it.

I've always been respectful to the game, and in return I've been greatly rewarded--not always in the form of material gifts but with education and exposure.

Basketball helped me to become the only college graduate in my family. Attending the University of Virginia opened my mind to the world and exposed me to different cultures and experiences my all-African-American upbringing failed to provide. Playing overseas (before the ABL and WNBA) and with USA Basketball showed me the world and exactly how small we really are. Olympic competition (an experience like no other) helped me see the greatness and strength of the United States and made me proud to be an American.

Basketball also introduced me to Nike, and Nike introduced me to the business of sport. The company helped me to establish the Dawn Staley Foundation to help other North Philly girls discover something just as important as passion: hope.

And the rewards continue. I never thought I would see the day when "we" would have our own league. The founders of the ABL, WNBA president Val Ackerman and NBA commissioner David Stern saved my basketball career and the careers of countless other women.