Michele Roberts entered the history books when she became the first-ever female executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.
Roberts began her career in 1980 at Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and enjoyed an illustrious law career before she took on the NBPA role in 2014.
Roberts sat down to chop it up with The Undefeated, where she as asked whether she was “proud” or “sad” about becoming the first woman in the role.
“Both, but it also makes me feel a little bit pressured. Because when I sought the job, I was obviously aware being a woman was of some significance. But it did not occur to me that getting the job was going to be received the way it has been received,” she explained.
Roberts says she fell in love with the game because her two older brothers were and grew up wanting to play professionally. She said that she was aware of many of the challenges that Black women faced in the corporate industry, but she did not let it deter her one bit.
“Twenty-five, maybe even 15 years earlier, I might have said, I’m not in the business trying to break any glass ceilings,” she shared. “By then, I understood, if you don’t go for it, it’s not gonna be got. And I wanted that job. And while I understood from good intelligence that it was a long shot, nothing beats failure but to try. So I did it.”
And of the shockingly low number of Black coaches, general managers and owners in sports?
“I sort of view it in two ways. You’re right, there clearly is a dearth in the number of coaches of color and GMs of color – and frankly owners of color. We can’t pretend there’s not work to be done. Again, I concede that the numbers have gotten better. I don’t know why they can’t get even better because the number of veteran players that are available for assistant coaching positions and then ultimately promotion to coaches, is overwhelming. And there’s so much talent that’s not otherwise employed,” adding that the league needs to do a better job of providing more opportunities.
“I would be at least as interested in seeing us figuring out if there’s something we can do as a players association or even just informally to do something about the amount of African-American ownership of color. Because I frankly think the tone is set at the top. And if we have so few owners of color at the top, then it reduces the chances for there being more coaches of color, GMs of color.”
Roberts loves her job, but when it comes to racial and discrimination, she says she will not shy away from the conversation.
“If I said I don’t, no one would believe me. And so I’m not going to say I don’t, cause that’s not true. But it’s not something I deal with on a day-to-day basis. I think people who are that foolish, now have the good sense to keep that ignorance to themselves. And so if somebody treats me badly, I don’t assume, and it’s not necessarily clear to me, that it’s because they have a problem with the fact that I’m a woman, or African-American, or both,” she said.
“But I still suffer the same slights we all do. I can still walk into a nice boutique and have someone follow me from corner to corner. Because I wear my hair short and sometimes I’m wearing pants, I can’t get a cab in New York either. But I really can’t allow it to sort of paralyze me.”
