Imagine waking up every morning knowing that you will suffer an insurmountable amount of physical and emotional pain.
You cry out for help, but nobody listens. You’re at your darkest hour and feel that there’s no hope. In the last moments, you pick up a small orange ball and a light comes over you. As you grow, you realize this round ball had the power to bring you joy and give you a platform to help others. For former Texas Longhorn and WNBA star Imani Boyette, basketball represents the unfolding of her life.
Boyette grew up in Los Angeles. As a youth, she dealt with a lot of turmoil. At three years old, her parents were engaged in a bitter custody battle. This caused infrequent visits with her mother which led to an inability to build a relationship with her for over a decade. From the ages of eight to 12, Boyette was sexually abused by a family member.
When she tried to reach out for help, her requests were neglected because nobody believed her. Boyette fell into a deep depression. At the age of 10, the depression became unbearable and she attempted suicide.
Her depression continued throughout high school and resulted in two additional attempts to take her own life before she graduated.
“There are days when you wake up and feel like your body can’t make it through the day…like physically can’t do it,” Boyette told huffpost.com. “It felt like the world was ending. I didn’t think anyone understood that.”
The only thing that brought Boyette any joy was her love for basketball. With her family having a rich lineage in basketball, it was easy for her to fall in love with the game.
“At the time, basketball was the only dependable thing in my life,” she told Cosmopolitan News.
As her basketball talent became more evident, her self-confidence grew along with it. By the time she graduated from high school, she was 6-foot-5, a McDonald’s High School All-American and led her team to a state championship. She received interest from many of the top universities. However, Boyette decided to take her talents to the University of Texas.
Boyette made an immediate impact when she started her college career being named Big 12 Freshman of the Year for the 2013-14 season. During her sophomore year, she would get even better as she led the Lady Longhorns in field goal percentage.
When her senior year arrived, she was named an AP All-American Honorable Mention, Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Big 12.
After the 2016 season, Boyette declared for the WNBA draft. She was selected 10th overall by the Chicago Sky. During the draft process, she began to tell her story and use her platform to inspire young people who dealt with sexual abuse and mental illness.
“My purpose is to talk about these things because nobody talked about it when I was going through it,” Boyette told CBS Chicago News. “It made me feel like I was the only one in the world going through these issues. Now, I’ll talk about it because if one person sees me and decides to keep fighting then it’s all worth it.”
Boyette is having a solid career with the Chicago Sky. Earlier this year, she announced that she would be stepping away from the WNBA for the next two seasons to pursue a law degree at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.
She plans to use her degree to continue assisting victims of sexual assault and those who suffer with mental illness.
Boyette’s story serves as another example of the power of sports and how they can change a person’s life. While many look at sports and view them as just a silly game, they’ll never know the true impact sports may have on a person’s heart. It can take people from being depressed to bringing joy and fulfillment to their lives.
Sports can take a family out of poverty and give them generational wealth. Many athletes have gone on record saying that sports provide a safe haven and helped them get through rough patches in their life. If Boyette had not had the game of basketball, there is a strong possibility that she would have taken her own life.
Something as small as a little orange ball gave her the strength to fight on and the confidence to help others deal with the same things she had faced.
Do not underestimate the power of what sports can do for a person.
Whether it’s playing or watching the sport we love, the ability of sports to change, to uplift and to inspire can transform a person’s life for the better.
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