Artists, Athletes, Educators Voice Support for Nikole Hannah-Jones Amid Issue of Tenure at UNC
Hundreds of artists, athletes and educators signed onto an open letter Tuesday morning, voicing solidarity with award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones following the news that UNC elected to postpone its review of her tenure application.
Hannah-Jones, who works for the New York Times, is set to return to her alma mater as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism, a professorship that typically includes tenure. The UNC Board of Trustees, however, elected to “take no action” on her tenure application, which has led to increasing community outrage. The discourse continued Tuesday, with 238 people writing support for Hannah-Jones in an opinion column for the Black-oriented magazine The Root.
As the countdown to Thursday s 2021 WNBA draft (7 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App) continues, the biggest question isn t focused on which player might be selected first. Texas junior Charli Collier remains the projected No. 1 pick.
But with the Wings trading the No. 7 pick to the Los Angeles Sparks before Wednesday s draft trade deadline, now we wonder: Which player are the Sparks targeting for that pick? Dallas still holds four of the first 13 selections, but now the Sparks have two in the first round.
Could Los Angeles be after a local college star in UCLA s Michaela Onyenwere? If point guards Aari McDonald and Dana Evans go in the top six, and Onyenwere is still available, she could be the Sparks choice at No. 7. Los Angeles coach/general manager Derek Fisher said he wants playmakers and versatile defenders. Players such as Onyenwere and DiJonai Carrington also could fit that bill.
Stephanie Watts selected No 10 in WNBA Draft dailytarheel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailytarheel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
The Washington Mystics won the WNBA championship in 2019 before losing many key players to opt outs prior to the 2020 bubble season during which they went 9-13 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. They hope to be back to being one of the best teams in the league this year.
Picks: none
The Washington Mystics do not have any scheduled picks in the 2021 WNBA Draft. Their trade to get Tina Charles prior to the 2020 season made sure of that. Charles is a former MVP and, at 32, is still a superstar in the league. Her addition makes Washington a contender when placed alongside two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne. The team also has All-WNBA Second Team talent Myisha Hines-Allen, sharpshooter Ariel Atkins and an emerging star point guard in Natasha Cloud. That will likely be the Mystics’ starting lineup and they will sorely miss offseason acquisition Alysha Clark who is out for the season with a Lisfranc injury.
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
It’s now or never for the Phoenix Mercury!
That they have only one draft pick the No. 32 selection in the third round is illustrative of how “all in” the Mercury are on the chase for another championship.
Phoenix would have been drafting No. 8 in the 2021 WNBA Draft, but they preemptively traded this pick in the 2020 offseason in order to acquire Skylar Diggins-Smith. They then traded the No. 6 selection in this year’s draft, which they received from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for DeWanna Bonner last offseason, to the New York Liberty for Kia Nurse and Megan Walker. The Mercury also sent their 2022 first-round pick to the Liberty in this transaction.