Editors’ Note

Originally from Kansas, Ruth Riley is an Olympic gold medalist who plays for the Women’s National Basketball Association.

As a professional basketball player, you have a lot of time pressures. How do you find the time to be so involved in the Nothing But Nets campaign?

I’ve always been involved in our local communities, including Read to Achieve and various basketball clinics where I’ve worked with kids. But this opportunity is unique because it’s dealing with a global crisis. I went to Kenya for Global AIDS Day in December, and when I got back, the WNBA had just signed up to partner with Nothing But Nets, and they asked me if I would be interested in being a spokesperson. I felt touched by my experiences over there, and felt compelled to help in any way that I could. We’re so blessed here in the United States, and to go there and see a day in the life of an ordinary African – their lack of resources and opportunities, and the high levels of AIDS, and especially malaria, which is killing more children in Africa than anything else – is really heartbreaking. I think a lot of people didn’t know that until Nothing But Nets created that awareness.

Will you be going back to visit Africa?

I’m supposed to be going back to Africa every off-season that I can. We’re partners with the UN Foundation, so I’m working on some projects with them as well as Nothing But Nets. Our off-season for the WNBA is a little longer than that of the NBA so that gives me a bigger window to travel a little bit, and to be more involved. But I also see my involvement as not only going to Africa but also here in the United States, in creating awareness on the Nothing But Nets tour that will be going to different cities as well.

How crucial has the leadership of the NBA and WNBA been to the success of these types of community projects?

David [Stern] runs the league on and off the court, and it’s been impressive to see the vision he has for such compelling community involvement, in our local cities as well as in non-WNBA cities, and on a global level with WNBA Cares and NBA Cares. Our grassroots program of expanding the love of basketball and using that to create positive messages, for causes like AIDS and HIV, or malaria, is extremely rewarding. And David has really propelled that throughout the organization.

Is this type of community service something you will continue after you finish playing professionally?

Definitely. I think it’s more of a philosophy or a culture. I have these opportunities now because I’m playing basketball; but the NBA and the WNBA do a great job of keeping their former players involved. The NBA Legends do a lot of work during the NBA season because the current players can’t get out, and I anticipate being involved beyond my career on the court as well.