WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker announced yesterday that she is leaving the Chicago Sky to join the Las Vegas Aces, citing her wife and kids as reasons for the choice. This got me thinking about the reasons families move—including anti-LGBTQ climates.
Parker became a free agent after two seasons with the Chicago Sky, following a long stint with the Los Angeles Sparks (2008–2020). She has won WNBA Championship titles with each team, and was twice named WNBA MVP, among her many honors. She married former Russian Olympic basketball player Anna Petrakova in 2019; the couple had a son in 2022 and Parker has a daughter, Lailaa, from a previous marriage.
She took to Instagram to explain her decision to leave the Sky, writing:
My family is my reason and my purpose…. of course I’m thinking of where I can compete for my third championship, but the words home and family are what I kept coming back to…. Throughout her 13 years, Lailaa has always sacrificed for me; always put me first; and always supported me in what I wanted or needed to do, even when it was tough on her.
I need to be there for my daughter, for my son, for my wife. I can’t be without them for parts of the season when Lailaa is in school and I won’t miss her volleyball games or school dances simply because of distance. Lailaa starts high school in August and I need to be there for her, just as she’s been there for me.
Parker, who grew up in the Chicago area, added, “While Chicago will always be my home, my family’s home is on the west coast.” She and her family made the decision together, she said.
I salute them for making the right decision for their family, putting their kids first, and for sharing their reasons with the world. We need such role models.
I cannot help but think, however, of the study that came out this week in which 56 percent of the LGBTQ parents surveyed in Florida have considered moving out of Florida because of the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill; 17 percent have taken steps to do so. I think of the families with transgender children in Texas and other states who are moving or considering it because of anti-trans legislation and policies there.
Families may move for many reasons, and the best interests of our children should always be a factor. Yet when we feel forced to move because of persecution, harassment, systemic marginalization, or being prevented from providing our children with the care they need, that points to a deep problem in our society.
As a Jew, my personal and cultural heritage is filled with families who moved seeking better opportunities and those fleeing persecution, or combinations thereof. I find it immensely troubling to see families in the United States, where many of my ancestors came for safety and security, having to relocate to protect their children—or wanting to do so even if they lack the resources.
Let us celebrate Parker and Petrakova’s commitment to their family, then, even as we work to ensure that all families have the chance and the choice to live where they will, close to other family members, jobs, quality education, or whatever other factors are important to them, without fear of discrimination, harassment, or persecution.