By Ashleigh Fields
Jaia Thomas has proven herself to be a trailblazer in the sports industry by creating a place for Black women to celebrate their unprecedented achievements. Recently, Thomas took her celebation all the way to the White House Eisenhower Executive Office Building on July 31 for National Black Women in Sports Day.
Thomas welcomed Keia Clarke, CEO of WNBA’s New York Liberty team, Lonnie Murray, an agent for the Major League Baseball Players Association, Monica McNutt, ESPN analyst, and Nneka Ogwumike, a member of the Seattle Storm, to discuss wins and losses in terms of deal brokering, pay discrepancies and discrimination in the workplace.
Each woman brought years of perspective, passion and purpose to the discussion infusing attendees with wisdom.
“It is important to celebrate Black women’s professional achievements in the sports industry for a myriad of reasons. Firstly, Black women are still severely underpaid, underappreciated and underrepresented in many facets of the sports industry,” Thomas told The Informer. “Carving out a space to celebrate their achievements provides a much-needed layer and level of support and acknowledgement.”
As the founder of Diverse Representation, an organization geared toward opening doors for Black agents, attorneys, managers, publicists and financial advisors in professional sports, Thomas has managed to secure a safe space for experts to share the wealth of their experiences.
While panelists spent time chronicling their career, a significant portion of their remarks highlighted biases in the realm of professional sports.
A major issue was pay discrepancies which exist from the boardroom to the playing field. In 2022 statistics reflected that the average NBA player made over five million dollars while WNBA players were paid $120,000 per year on average. Forbes recently reported, personal financial advising has one of the largest gender pay gaps across industries. The average male personal financial advisor makes $103,220 every year, while female personal financial advisors make $65,208 annually. Of the 151 sports teams in the five major professional sports in the United States, the current total of majority owners who are Black equals one: Michael Jordan, a man.
BET co-Founder Sheila Johnson is the only Black woman with ownership in three pro sports teams.
“It’s important to celebrate Black women’s professional achievements in the sports industry because it serves as a source of inspiration for Black women looking to make inroads into the industry,” said Thomas, an attorney by trade. “Bearing witness to the achievements of Black women in sports can serve as a compass for the younger generation interested in similar career paths.”
Her words rang true for Kennedy Byrd, a law student at the University of Miami hoping to serve as counsel for athletes upon graduation. She recalled the event as an “unforgettable experience.”
“It was incredible to see Black women who are integral to sports get recognized and the opportunity to foster a powerful sisterhood through conversation and networking,” Byrd, Thomas’ mentee, shared. “As an intern for Diverse Representation who witnessed the holiday’s inaugural year, it has been rewarding to watch Diverse Representation and Jaia Thomas continue to expand this celebration. I am excited to see how the day will continue to influence and shape the industry for Black women in the future.”
Statistics show employees who undergo mentoring programs are employed in higher positions five times more than their colleagues who lack mentorship according to research from MentorComplete. The retention rates for mentees stand at 72% when gaining knowledge from mentorship programs.
While the day was about women’s empowerment, men gained valuable knowledge from the event too. Greg Jackson, deputy director for the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, attended alongside Michael Franklin, founder of the Words Normalize Behavior communications agency.
“The contributions and leadership of Black women are undeniable and incomparable. It was an honor to celebrate the excellence of Black women in sports,” Franklin said. “Black women are change-makers and we must continue to uplift and support their unwavering and transformative leadership.”
