Fly the Colors

At the end of a Dallas Wings’ recent practice, Head Coach Chris Koclanes gathered his team at center court. He instructed them to continue to “build” their “identity.” He urged the squad to play unselfishly, share the ball, and do all the things he felt necessary to make that identity a winning one.

That Sunday, the franchise that employs Koclanes and his players was hosting an event they hoped would be indicative of the organization’s identity as a whole. They staged their annual Pride Game.

The Pride Game, said Wings guard JJ Quinerly, “shows the people on the outside that the organization is committed to just their players in general and making sure that everybody is comfortable within their own selves.”

The proceedings on June 8 featured several Pride-themed activations. The scoreboard video screens’ Pride Cam showed off the varieties of rainbow imagery fans had worn to the game, including special Wings-branded Pride shirts on sale in the arena. The club also recognized their LGBTQ+ Champions of Change, one of three such groups who serve as ambassadors and sounding boards for the Wings’ efforts to connect with minority cohorts.

“Sports is a convener,” said LaDondra Wilson, the Wings’ VP for social responsibility and executive director of the team’s Community Foundation. “You may have different political beliefs. You may have different socioeconomic class, different races, different beliefs, and even sexual orientation. But when you come into this arena, we all love the Wings. Some may like the other opponent, but we’re all here for a basketball game. We want to see good basketball.”

The Wings lost to Minnesota 81-65 that Sunday but did play some good basketball in stretches. The home team had battled to make it a 1-point game after three quarters before the first-place Lynx pulled away. Though the evening may have been about more than basketball, even in a Pride game, you still want to win.

The man who runs the department ultimately charged with winning basketball games joined the Wings prior to this season. Executive VP of Basketball Operations and General Manager Curt Miller has worked in the WNBA since 2015. Visiting Arlington while employed with the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks, he had noticed that the Wings drew perhaps the league’s most diverse crowd. Miller has long had an interest in seeing teams create events like the Pride game his franchise executed.

“For years at the collegiate level,” Miller said, “I used to advocate for an opportunity to have a Pride game and to see in my two-decades-plus as a head coach and 30-plus years in women’s basketball, both at the collegiate level and the pro level, organizations and athletic departments have Pride games now is really heartwarming for me and fulfilling.”

Being the only out gay male head coach at basketball’s highest levels certainly fueled Miller’s desire to endorse theme days like the one the Wings held on their home floor Sunday. But he also has a passion for winning on that same court, having recorded more than 450 Ws as a head coach across the Division I and WNBA levels. USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director Briana Weiss recognized Miller on the logo before Sunday’s game for his scouting and coaching contributions to 2024’s Olympic gold medal. He sees the attitude embodied in a Pride game as a facilitator for positive results once the games start.

“Any time you have an organization, a workplace, that you can be your authentic self and be comfortable, I think it’s a recipe for success,” he said.

Wilson agrees, saying, “We want to have an inclusive, safe place for all of our fans, for our staff, and obviously for our players. We want them to feel comfortable, so they can win.”

Any player who has made it to the WNBA possesses advanced basketball skills. To Quinerly, adding a level of security with one’s identity represents a path to making the most of those abilities.

“Being able to just be comfortable in your own body, I think that makes you play even better,” she said.

Quinerly contributed energy to the Wings lineup that Sunday. She played 19 minutes, her most in any game this season and not long after scoring a season-high 14 points Friday against Los Angeles. The rookie from West Virginia noted after the game that she “definitely” feels “comfortable” in her adjustment to pro ball with the Wings. That her development might coincide with a welcoming atmosphere would come as no surprise to her GM.

“You can just concentrate on getting better,” Miller said, “and not the fear of being someone that you’re not or trying to conform to what other people want you to conform to.”

Miller suggested that his current employer offers “a tremendous work environment in terms of support from top to bottom.” As part of that effort, Wilson’s department doesn’t stop at a Pride celebration. Themes like AAPI Heritage Night, African-American Heritage Night, and Celebración Latina dot the home schedule. Alongside those, there’s also Back to School Day, Rock the Pink, and Celebrate Arlington. Wilson believes that making all their fans feel welcome — including different ethnicities, children and families, breast cancer survivors, and Arlington residents — makes the organization stronger.

“We’re not just doing this on Pride Night, but we’re doing this year-round,” she said. “No matter what community you’re a part of, we all are family, and we want to make sure that no one feels siloed or excluded.”

Wilson’s sentiment mirrors that of Coach Koclanes. They both want to share the basketball. The Wings organization hopes that’s an identity that leads to wins on and off the court.