A sports and entertainment attorney has broken new ground after working to create a day to recognize Black women in sports.
Jaia Thomas said she worked to push National Black Women in Sports Day (observed on July 7) as a way to celebrate and highlight the achievements of Black women in the world of athletics while putting out a call to action to create more opportunities for women in sports.
“The ultimate goal is three-fold,” Thomas told The Athletic in an interview. “Firstly, I want National Black Women in Sports Day to serve as a blueprint for young Black girls to see what is possible. As the adage goes ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ Although I had amazing examples of successful Black women throughout my childhood, I don’t think I ever met a Black woman agent, attorney, or executive in the sports industry until I was in my late 20s or maybe early 30s. Having a day that highlights these women can provide a type of exposure for young Black girls and young Black women that they may not get elsewhere. I’m hoping this exposure motivates them to pursue these careers.”
She continued: “Secondly, I want it to open up more opportunities for Black women in the sports industry. Black women are still the minority in every segment of the sports industry and my hope is that this day will challenge sports teams, leagues, agencies and organizations to be more intentional about hiring Black women. Thirdly, my goal is to garner more support for Black women who currently work in the sports industry. By educating people about Black women coaches or Black women athletic directors, and more, my hope is that we become more proactive about supporting them. I’ll know if it has achieved these goals when the numbers start to increase, when we start to see more Black women executives, agents, coaches, etc., in the industry.”
National Black Women in Sports Day comes on the heels of several advacements among women in sports, including the recent news of Nike tapping Sarah Mensah as the first Black woman to lead its Jordan brand and Nicole Lynn becoming the first Black woman to represent an NFL player in the Super Bowl.
Thomas has long been known as a racial and gender equity advocate who was passionate about women in sports since her childhood. Her grandmother was an assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and her father founded WCIN in Cincinnati, one of the first Black-owned radio stations in the country.
“It left an imprint and made me hyper-aware of issues surrounding diversity and inclusion,” Thomas said. “So I think the spark was lit as a child, and the fire turned into a flame through varied life experiences. Both of my parents are from the Jim Crow South, so racism isn’t some far-fetched, esoteric abstract to me. I’m only one generation removed from segregation. I have great grandparents who were never able to reach their full potential simply because of the color of their skin, so I know firsthand the debilitating impact and effects of racism. And as a Black attorney in an industry where we make up only 5 percent of the profession, I’ve experienced firsthand the unequal treatment and unbalanced opportunities afforded to people who look like me. I’ve experienced the micro-aggressions and heard the snarky comments throughout my professional life and know that even though we’ve made progress, we still have a long way to go.”
Shortly after graduating from The George Washington Law School and recognizing that there was a lack of Black people in the intellectual-property space, she founded Diverse Representation, an organization with a mission to increase the exposure and hiring of Black agents, attorneys, executives and publicists in the sports and entertainment field. The company is known to be one of the first to design a holistic database of Black people working on every step of the corporate ladder and aims to match prospective candidates with companies.
“Visibility is so very important in making sure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed in the sports industry,” says Douglass Morgan. “I have said it before that being the first is not success, in my opinion. It is making sure that I’m not the last. The National Black Women in Sports Day is a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on the positive impact of Black women in sports and hopefully inspire and uplift the next generation of leaders in our industry.”
