Dad Herschel | Mom Nancy Bird, What You Didn’t Know About Sue Bird Parents
There is no denying the fact that Sue Bird is one of the most accomplished basketball players in the history of players in the United States.
Throughout her career, she has consistently delivered the kind of flawless performance that is the standard to which all athletes aspire.
Despite this, there is perpetual debate on the difference between the WNBA and the NBA. Bird has mentioned that female basketball players are paid so little that they are forced to look for other overseas opportunities to make a difference. The pay gap has always been a problem in the realm of woman’s sports.
Sue Bird serves as a source of motivation for women all across the world. She built a reputation for herself in basketball and triumphed over many obstacles, which is something that a lot of women have to do daily all around the world. She is an inspiration to people all around the world.
Herschel And Nancy Bird Are Sue Bird’s Parents
Sue Bird is the daughter of a Jewish father and a mother who is not Jewish.
She was born in Syosset, New York. Her mother, Nancy Bird, worked as a nurse at Syosset High School. Her father, Herschel Bird, is a doctor specializing in cardiac rehabilitation.
At the time of their immigration to the United States in the early 1900s from Ukraine, Herschel’s parents went by the name “Boorda,” but they changed it to “Bird” at Ellis Island.
Sue’s father uprooted the family and moved them to Queens, New York, while she was a senior in high school, so she might try out for a more competitive team. During her junior year, her parents filed for divorce.
Sue has an elder sister named Jen. Her first exposure to the game was at a New York Knicks game when she was six years old. Bird wanted to get started in the sport because she wished to be like her sister.
Sue Has Come A Long Way From Watching Her First Game To Now Being A Gold Medalist
At age six, Sue Bird was introduced to the game of basketball while attending a New York Knicks game.
She was inspired to start playing by her elder sister Jen, a football player. Several other universities courted sue Bird, but in the end, she decided to play for the University of Connecticut. There, Bird won five championships: two at the national level and three at the Big East level.
Sue Bird Received The Nancy Lieberman Award
The basketball player was the first-ever recipient of the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is presented annually to the woman considered the best point guard playing at the collegiate level in the United States.
The award is named for a Jewish hall of Famer. She went on to win the prize the next two years in a row.
The Player Was Chosen By The Seattle Storm In 2002
Sue Bird was chosen by the Seattle Storm with the first overall choice in the WNBA draft in 2002. She has won WNBA titles with the Storm in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020.
Her most recent title came in 2020. Sue became just the third basketball player in the history of the sport, regardless of whether they were male or female, to win championships in three separate decades with her victory in 2020.
Sue Talks About Basketball And More With Diana Taurasi In A Podcast
In the episode of the 30 for 30 podcast titled “The Spy Who Signed Me,” Bird and her teammate Diana Taurasi talk about their time spent playing professional basketball in Russia and discuss Shabtai Kalmanovich, the owner of their team and benefactor who was killed in 2009.
Kalmanovich was a Jewish KGB spy who was killed in 2009. The women’s basketball team received backing from Kalmanovich on a level they had never seen before.
Sue Bird Won Gold In The Olymipics
In 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016, Bird (together with Tarausi) competed for the United States on the Olympic squad and brought home the gold each time.
They also set their sights on winning a record-tying fifth gold medal in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 (2021). Only six other basketball players in history have ever competed in at least five Olympic Games, and only one American woman has ever done so.
Sue did what she said. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, she won yet another gold medal.
The WNBA Player Is Also An Active Participant Of The WNBA Union
Sue is an active member of the WNBA union and serves as vice president of the players association.
She was instrumental in the election of Rev. Raphael Warnock as Georgia’s senator over WNBA owner Kelly Loeffler, and she devoted the WNBA’s season in the bubble (also known as the Wubble) to Breonna Taylor.
Sue Bird Is One Of The Founders Of TOGETHXR
Together with Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, and Simone Manuel, she established TOGETHXR in 2021 as a media and commerce firm. TOGETHXR is where culture, activism, lifestyle, and sports unite, intending to destroy the stereotypes frequently held about women in the media.
Sue Has A Whopping Net Worth Of $8 Million
In 2022, Bird possesses a net worth of eight million dollars.
She agreed to play for Seattle Storm for a period of one year. In exchange, the team paid her an annual salary of $221,450. When her other sources of income are factored in, Bird probably brings in somewhere around half a million dollars per year.
Sue has built a name for herself all around the world. In 2022, Sue brings in a yearly wage of 72,141 dollars on average. 2002 began her professional career, which started with the Seattle Storm. After that, she played for Dynamo Moscow from 2004 to 2006, during which time she was active in the sport. To date (2022), she has been awarded five gold medals.
In addition to her yearly pay, a significant portion of Sue’s wealth comes from the endorsement deals she has signed with various companies. These partnerships include those companies such as Nike, State Fram, Symetra, American Express, Mendi, and Glossier.
Sue’s Partner Megan Ranipoe Has Also Amassed A Fortune During Her Professional Career
Megan Ranipoe amassed a career net worth of $3 million during her time as a professional athlete. It has been stated that her salary with Seattle Reign FC is $168,000.
The Chicago Red Stars picked Megan Rapinoe with the second overall pick in the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft in 2009. She played 1,375 minutes on the field with the Red Stars, making her a starter in 17 of the 18 games she participated in. During the game, Rapinoe was responsible for two goals and three assists.
She was selected for the league’s All-Star Team in August 2009. She played for the United States of America in the 2009 WPS All-Star Game, which was played against Umea IK, the champions of the Swedish Damallsvenskan.
Does The Basketball Player Identify With The LGBTQ Community?
Many individuals have the prejudiced belief that the vast majority of female basketball players are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
As a result, they are constantly brought into question. However, this is inaccurate because they are not in that position. It is entirely pointless to make assumptions about other people since, first and foremost, a person’s orientation is a private concern for that individual. It is indisputable that there is a prominent number of members of the WNBA who have publicly identified as being a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
There are many LGBTQ players in the WNBA; however, suggesting that all of them are from the LGBTQ community would be an exaggeration. For example, Outsports has revealed that nine of the twenty-five greatest players in the history of the WNBA come from the LGBTQ community.
In 2017, Bird acknowledged to the general world that she identifies as LGBTQ+ and said she is in a relationship with the American football player Megan Ranipoe. The year 2020 marked the couple’s engagement.
Who Is Megan Rapinoe, the Partner of Sue Bird?
After four years of going out together, Rapinoe and Bird got engaged in Antigua in the fall of 2020. Megan is well-known worldwide for her skilled performance on the field and her promotion of the sport.
Her pinpoint pass to Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute of the quarterfinal match against Brazil at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup resulted in an equalizer for the United States, which ultimately led to their victory in the penalty shootout.
The goal scored in the last minute of play won ESPN’s 2011 ESPY Award for Best Play of the Year. Megan was the driving force behind the United States’ gold medal performance at the Olympic Games in London in 2012, as she scored three goals and contributed a team-high four assists.
She is the first player in the Olympic Games, male or female, to score a goal directly off a corner, and she has done it twice. The sportswoman is the only player to score a goal directly off a corner. Megan was honored with the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball in France’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
