Dwyane Wade is turning his attention toward the WNBA, joining the Chicago Sky ownership group, ESPN reports.
“It’s an incredible feeling being on this side of history,” Wade wrote on Instagram. “To see growth, on the business side, for something that I’ve been passionate about my whole life is an amazing feeling. There are amazing things happening in the @WNBA. It’s official! This is for the home team.”
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The commitment Wade has given will enable the team to prioritize fan and player satisfaction, allocating funds to physical resources and enhancing their marketing and storytelling efforts, per ESPN. Already, the organization is aiming to secure a new team facility.
“We all talk about support, and support looks different for everyone,” Wade told ESPN. “And so instead of tweeting out and saying ‘go support the W,’ instead of showing up at the game and supporting, I wanted to take it to that next level, and this was the next level for me.”
He added, “It’s a great opportunity to be a part of the league in its very early stages. Growth is going to happen, and so I want to be a part of the growth of this league.”
Nadia Rawlinson, Sky co-owner and operating chairman, told ESPN, “This is meaningful for the players, and this is meaningful for the city as a whole. Dwyane Wade is a son of Chicago. And the thing that differentiates us, I think, from other franchises is that we are Chicago. We are the future of Chicago. We are the culture of Chicago. We are in it and of it, and he is very much sort of a main character in that story. And we’re just pleased and thrilled at what the future can bring with both of us working together.”
