Nihil Obstat

Sue Wicks

A few days ago someone told me they had spotted Sue Wicks jogging in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. They saw her one time alone, and once running with her young girlfriend. Like “The Girl from Ipanema” Wicks left sighs and fluttering hearts in her wake.

Some woman worked up the nerve to give her a high wattage smile and got one in return. She was high for the rest of the day.

I’m sure half my CYO basketball team would have had a humongous crush on Wicks. Hopefully all that extra energy would have been sublimated into a better team free throw percentage!

Sue Wicks, 6’3′, grew up in Center Moriches, NY and graduated from Rutgers University. She was the 6th overall pick in the Inaugural WNBA Draft in 1997. Wicks was selected by the NY Liberty. She played for the Liberty through 2002. She is their all-time leader in blocked shots with 155, third on the all-time career rebounds list with 788, and fourth in games at 182.

I have tremendous respect for Wicks on several levels: first as a great baseball player; and then as the first player in the entire WNBA to come out as a lesbian.

In spring 2002 Wicks was interviewed by a reporter from Time Out New York. He asked, point blank, “Are you a lesbian?”

Though she’d previously demurred when other reporters had skirted around the issue, Wicks’ reply to the direct question was refreshingly honest “I am,” she said. “Usually I don’t like to answer those kinds of questions, because you worry the issue might become so much bigger than the sport. As an athlete, it’s a little annoying when that becomes the point of interest. But I would never avoid that question, especially in New York. I think it’s important that if you are gay, you not be afraid to say who you are.”