Val Whiting, a former Stanford basketball star and current WNBA player, is using her status as a role model to educate youth in Delaware about HIV/AIDS prevention. She runs a summer basketball league for high school girls that incorporates seminars on HIV/AIDS led by the state health department. Whiting saw statistics showing alarming increases in HIV/AIDS cases among young minority women in Delaware and wants to help address the issue using her influence. At a recent event honoring black history month, Whiting and other athletes spoke to elementary students and emphasized the importance of education alongside athletic pursuits.

1. Special toThe News JournayTOM NUTTER
vat whilinc. who {tras a pre-med studglt at-stanfors pla!s.!g,,q-sQ [91-s$sewds.fgsk$be!L legguelq.-9gg-qale
-voUgSf"r6 aOotrtihe dFrfrind'indr6ase'ifr*HiV?ndTiD5iases arnong minority gtoups.
Ct ourFoRACnusg
Basketball star Val Whiting uses league to teach kids about HlV, AIDS
BY KEVIN tlOOllAl{
Staff rePorter
Val Whiting saw the statistics,
but she didn't see cold, meaningless
numbers. She saw Young women
whose lives were being ruined, and
sometimes ended. And sheknew
she hadto do something, anYthing,
to help.
firose statistics showedan alarm'
ing increase in cases of HIV and
AIDS inwomenage 13to24, espe
cially amongminorities and esPe
cially inDelaware. AndWhiting is
using her clout as a basketball stand-
outto increase awareness abouthow
the diseases have sPreadinrecent
years and how to avoid them.' "What's the point of being a role
modelunless you use thatto helP
other people?" Whiting said. "I'm
not being noble or anYthing like,
that, I'm just taking advantage of
the opportuniW I have because I'm a
professional athlete and have some
name recognition in Delaware.I'm
iust forhrnate that because of who I"am
andwhatl do thatl canhave
somekindof imPact."
Whiting was an AII-State
basketball player at Ursuline
Academy and an All-American at
,O* StanfordUniversit5z She is currenfly
AP lile Photo
ValWhiting is considering whether she
wants tb keep playing in theWNBA.
D5.
on a leave of absence fum the Deboit
Shock of the WNBA. Whiting isn-t
sure if she wants to continue her pro
fessional careef so Detrcit put her on
the league's suspended list.
For the past few years, she's also
run a sunmer basketball league for
high school-age girls inhernative
Delaware. This year, she'll have 12
teams in theleague, which is co-
sponsored by Wilmington Parks
and Recreation and willrun from
June 15 to July 20 at Wilmington
trYiends School.
fire participants willlearn about
basketba& and about life off the
court, as well. Whiting will make
AIDs education an integral Part of
her lea,gue, with daylong seminars
sponsored by the state Division of
zuUtic tteatUr on June 24 and JuIY B.
According to the Aflanta-based
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, since 1986 Delaware
has ranked from second to 18th in
AIDS cases per 100,0fi) PeoPIe, and
currently is eighth.
And what skuck home wds-thls:
Aftican-Americans make uP 1"2
percent of the population of women
agel}to%I,but 50 to 60 Percent of
new
See WHITIIIG
- It5

2. Athletes, Bancroft students celeb
Message delivered
is to work hard at
getting an education
By BUDDY I{URLOCK
: Staff reporter
WILMINGTON
- As Black
Ilistory Month reached its mid-
point Tuesday, Bancroft Elemen-
.tary School honored some of
Delaware's finest African-Ameri-
cans in the worid of sports and the
performing arts.
The main message was that pur-
suing a career in professional
sports is a noble goal, but perform-
,ing well in academics should al-
ways come first.
The honorees for the school's
third annual African-American
Awards ceremony included
.Newark High football standout
Kwame Harris, former Wilmington
High multi-sport coach Gene
Thompson, WNBA player Val
Whiting and ballet star Heidi
Yancey-Mosley.
But the 36 members of Marie
.Moore's fifth-grade class stole the
'show
The students artfully quoted
facts and a poem about Booker T.
Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.
The two were influential black
leaders of the early 1900s.
.' "You are always supposed to get
your education first," said Dustin
Hodge, 10, of Newark.
' Hodge said he looks up to Har-
ris, a lineman who will attend
Pro basketball playerVal Whiting, a graduate of Ursuline Academy' signs
autographs for-sttidents at BancroflElementary Schoolduring a Black
History Month event.
cblly diverse group.
1A fantastic program, and each
of the honorees gave a message of
hope to the youngsters," si
Thompson, who coaehed basli
ball, tennis and track during m
than 25 years at Wilmington Hi
'Although it's Black Histr
Month, we're dealing with cl
dren, and the diversity of cultu
here is vast," Thompson said.
"Regardless of it being Bk
History Month, which we have
have, the message goes for all k
and all walks of life."
Thompson invited each stud
to take up a sport this summer.
He said students who take p
in positive endeavors such
sports are more likely to stay al
from society's negative temp
tions.
Whiting's introduction focu
on all of her basketball success
When she stepped forwa
Whiting told the students she r
most proud of something else:
college education.
Whiting graduated from St
ford, where she played on t
NCAA championship teams.
"When you accomplish soi
thing, don't become complace:
Whiting told the students. "I dr
Stanford University, pot only be-
cause he's a talented athlete.
"He's a very good student,"
Hodge said.
Said Kari Malatesta, 10, of
Newark: "You need a good educa-
tion to get into sports. If you don't
have that, you can't be in sports."
Malatesta, and many others,
were excited to meet Whiting, an
Ursuline graduate who plays for
the Detroit Shock.
The more than 600 fifth- and
sixth-grade students attending the
event formed a racially and ethni-
Special to The News Joumal/TOM NUTTER

3. WEDNESDAY FEB. 16,2OOO .. THENEWSJOURNAL E5
$ celebrate black histot*
I f*iti::i1={i:3ffi:iY;.'fl'f *:ntru;ft
bv this' but I arwavs ror Yancw Mosrev, a ,."-"iu4i
I *ru;*ltr
'ffit*'ffi
r,ti::*fir$,r#
.i
d *xffi?i::3#ml,nl:
E Qopson invireti each student
B to take up a sport this summer.
; '"
T:;'?$:':i"i",;xx". ?f:fx"j '
I ;ffff fl:#;t l'};y,,T;t?'i:fl
I q-trtting's introduction focused
6 on all of her basketball success.
f *Y,X?1;lifJ :fJr""i,l".xtj;. -gft proud of something else: her
college education.
- Whiting graduated from Stan_
tord, where she played on two
Nq$j championshit;d;." " " "
,, . wnpn.you accomplish some_
: !!Jrlg.' don't become complacentJ'
i Whiting told the,t"a""iri-,t"Jri.i"

4. Women In Sports Day 2000
' Special fli The News JountaUDEE irAR
(From left) Cherohn Brorrn,11, of Seaford;Jennifer.Watkinsn 10, oJ Qgar;and Lauren Saveikisn lS, of Seafoii'iitneWomin il-Silt"
lay aw.ards ban-quet at Wesley Gollege on Sunday. Watkins'cousin, Vanita Bentley, was among tliose honoreO ai tlre lvent. Brown and
Saveikis came with a group lrom theWestern Suisex County Boys and Girls ctu6. A[ three hive a keen]inteitii in ipo*i.
I The Future: Gherohn
Brown, Jennifer Watkins
and Lauren Saveikis
By DOUG LESMERTSES
Staft reporter
DOVER
- Lauren Saveikis knows
what women athletes have had to over-
come.
"Women couldn't vote and had to stav
home and couldn't work, and it's still
kin! 9f like that today," the 13-year-old
eighth-grader from Seaford Miildle
School said.
"Peopiil still think men are better."
That's why 240 people, at least 200 of
them women, gathered at Wesley College
on Sunday to celebrate the 13th annual
"Women in Sports Day." Sponsored by
the Delaware Women's Alliance for
Sport and Fitness, the event raised
almost $3,000 for scholarships with an
auction, handed out awards to 27 hig}n
school and eight other female athletes
and contributors, and gave Delaware
female athletes an invaluable dav of
their own.
"When I was growing up 25 or 30
years ago," said DWASF president
Karen Conlin, "I'd watch,lWide World of
Sports'. Every six months or so, they'd
show a clip of a women's sport."
She never dreamed of the strides
women's athlelics would make in ternoe
of opportunities and exposure since..
then.
Yet Sunday's luncheon stands as the
one day for Delaware's women athletes
to come together in their own spotlight,
Hearing the stories of speakirs Val
Whiting and Mamie Johnsbn, and see-
iJrg the reactions of the crovird, gave '::
Conlin a reminder of why the DWrSF ,:.
exists.
See FUTURE bA

5. 3
Women In Sp
"Be the first to arrive at class, bG the first to arrit
WNBA player and Ursul
Present:
Ifhidng
stars ofl,
offcourt
FROM PAGE C1
women's sports will grow. And
the more Whitings there will be.
Not that becoming what Whit-
ing has become
-
a WNBA star,
Stanford grad, future medical
student and public speaker
-
is
easy.
"Be the first to arrive at class,
be the first to arrive at practicg
be the first to arrive at excel-
lence," Whiting told the audi-
ence.
-:*-Whiting vividly remembers
the failed cheerleading tryout in
seventh grade that launched her
basketball career.
Her mother, Claudette, re-
members the taunts her daughter
received for being a tall, la4ky, fe-
male athlete.
Now Whiting is speakingto an
auditorium full of people about
Martin Luther King Jr. one
week, giving a motivational
speech to MBNA executives the
next, then taking her boyfriend's
11-year-old sister to practice at 7
a.m. to show her what hard work
really is.
"When I was young, I didn't
know what it took," Whiting said.
Cheering on the sidelines
while her father coached youth
football, Whiting didn't even
know what was out there.
In the current world of
women's and girl's athletics,
which Whiting is a big part of,
there is more awareness andmore
opportunities.
There are more Val Whitings.
Sunday afternoon, there may
have been a few Whitings in wait-
ing in the audience, seeing in per-
son what today's female athlete
can be. ValWhiting {right) goes up for a shot while playing with Detroit in aWNB,

6. orts Day 2000
r at practice, be the first to arrive at excellenGe.'n
Lauren Shaw, Middletown
Vanita Bentley, Delcastle
Tracey HoweH, A.l. Dupont
Josie Harris, Hodgson Vo-Tech
lGren PettyFhn, Sussex Central
Lauren Spivack, Brandvwine
Lindsey Elliot, Delmar
-
Edca Labar, William penn
Amber Chambers, Dover
Caroline Salas, St. Andrew's
Suzanne Speed, Smvma
Kristin lrwin, Seaford-
liffany McCrea, Laurel
Kenna Healey, Archmere
|'M$
Shirley Hart, Bettv Richardson
[ecncatlnf,fftm
Karen Biesinger
Or$htrgCdt
Willy Miranda
SrfuSrtnrunr
Marion Lisehora
ffilllMfrSmm$
Janet Lardear
Sctnnnsill
Judy Kreggenwinkel
-
Ebffi*m
Jana Withrow
ne graduate Val Whiting
ItffilhWrtslhy
0msfdnlFng hm# fllgh $clrool lfilete lwmds
Kristy Vodvarka, Polvtech
J-ennifer Sheets, Wobdbridge
Kellye Hines, Glasqow
Lindsey Couilney, e. RoCney
Meghan Hannum, Sanford
-
Kelly Hoisington, St. Etizabeth
Nicole Faries, Lake Forest
Stacey Phillips, Concrrd
Kristin McGough, Ursuline
Clare Poynton, Newark
Laura Gillaspy, Charter
Marcy Shea, Tatnall
Jacqueline Clements,
Christiana
lhlawme lhment lfliancc lor
$pont and HmGs$ lwands
Future: Girls learn
accomplishment seen simple.
"Baseball is very easy,'t
said l0-year-ola .lennifer'
Watkins of Bear. "I think
there could be all-girls teams
right now."
Whiting a former Ursuline
star who now plays in the
WNBA, said she's never sure
what kind of impact she
makes at an event like this.
Even if one young athlete
did refer to her as "that tall
lady," there is good that comes
from live proof of success.
"It shows you to have faith
in yourself," Brown said.
"When you have faith you can
do it, you can do it."
"ft helps me," Saveikis said.
"Knowing they succeeded in
ryhat_they did helps me say
that I can do it."
To learn more about the
DWASE visit its Web site at
www.dwasf.org
) Reach Doug Lesmerises at 32&2g50
or dlesmeri @wilmingt.gannett.com
from sport pioneers
FROM PAGE Cl
- ."Blq is why we're doing
this. This is what we're
about," Conlin said.
Some of the youngest ath-
letes on hand hope the
DWASF keeps u[ its mission
un-til tley cqn join the group.
'I think that would [elp
-
support other people." said
Seaford Middle School sixth-
gr-adgr Cherohn Brown, who,
like Saveikis, came to the
luncheon with the Western
Sussex County Boys & Girls
Club. "sportsinoritd be
treated equally."
She was just one of the
many people stunned by John-
son's stories of playingbase-
ball in the Negrb L"ai.ret
with the men.
"f thought women weren't
allowed, because they aren,t
now," Brown said. "If [women]
are good enough, theyshould-
be on baseball teams.".
. Johnson's message was so
msprnng to some. it made her
game last season.
APfile

7. Pasfi Johnson's Negro League
experience paved waY for women
"lt's a pleasure
to stand here
and say not
who I am,
but what I am.o'
Mamie 'Peanut' Johnson
small, Johnson had a record of
33-8 durine her three-Year Pitch-
ing career with the IndianaPolis
Clowns.
She ioined WNBA star Val
Whitin"g as guest sPeakers at the
luncheon, and a room full of
women athletes liked nothing
more than getting to know a
woman who proved she was as
good as the guys.
- "lt's a pleasure to stand here
and sav nbt *ho I am, but what I
am," J6hnson said foom the
oodium.
' What that is is living Proof
FROM PAGE Cl
color line."
The explanation of her ac-
complishment was accomPanied
by tfie proper awe from the audi"
ence at the "Women in SPorts
Day" luncheon SundaY at Wes-
lev Colleee.
"
Eu"r, belaware Women's Al-
liance for Sport and trltness
uresident Karen Conlin had as-
sumed Johnson played in a
women's league before she met
her.
"She's a true pioneer," Conlin
said. "You don't get much better
than that."
Dressed in a Negro League
sweatshirt and cap, Johnson
came across as a universal
grandmother. with "babY" and
nhoney" sprinkled liherallY
through her baseball slories.
She learned the curveball
fiom Satchel Paige and was a
teammate of Hank Aaron' And
she was good. Nicknamed
"Peanut" because she was so
that whatever he can do, she can
do just as well.
Johnson operates a Negro
League memorabilia shoP in
Washington, D.C. now and trav-
els the country speaking at ban-
quets and gatherings about a
baseball feat most of her aufi-
ences know nothing about.
Johnson's career begs one
question: Will a woman ever
match Johnson and play men's
professional baseball?- "The men are so Pig-headed,"
Johnson said. "They still think
it's a man's thing and women
aren't supposed to do what theY
can do.
"It's that macho thing. But
you have to be able to plqy. W9
played like the fellas, although
we weren't the fellas."
If there are any questions in
the future about what women
can do, Johnson's past can helP
provide an
answer.
I The Pas[ Mamie 'Peanut'Johnson
By DOUG LESIIERISES
Stalf reporter
DOVER*WhenMamie
Johnson atternpted to try out
for the All-lmerican Girls
Professional Baseball
League almost 50 years ago,
they turned
her away
because she
was black.
The 64-
year-old
couldn't
believe the
ban and
decades
later calls it
pathetic.
But she's
glad the league refused to
break its color barrier.
"Because they didn't let
me play, they gave me the
chance to be in a whole
league of my own," Johnson
said Sunday.
Johnson took her baseball
skills to the Negro Leagues,
where she joined the Indi-
anapolis Clowns. She became
one of the three women to
This baseball card shows
"Peanut" Johnson in her
Negro League playing days.
play in a men's ptofessional
baseball league and is the
only one still alive.
Unable to follow Jackie
Robinson's lead in breaking
the color line, she broke the
gender line.
"To me that's much more
important," Jshnson said.
"That's much better than the
See PAST-@l
I The Present:
Ual Whiting
By DOUG LESilERISES
Staff reporter
DOVER-Val Whiting
leaned into the microphone
at the pofium, pumping up
her game-worn Detroit Shock
jersey that hadjust been put
up for auction.
Her selling point? Real
game sweat.
That's as good an example
as you'll find of today's
woman athlete
- a confi- .
dent, stunning role model
who gets paid to play her pas-
sion and who can have peo-
ple fighting to bid $300 for a
WNBA jersey heavy on the
perspiration.
"I didn't have people to
come back and give me inspi-
ration," said Whiting who
has been returning to
Delaware to do that since she
left Ursuline Academy for
Stanford University more
than 10 years ago. "These
young athletes have a chance
that I didn't have. When I
grew up, I looked up to
James Worthy. But I couldn't
Specihl to The News JoumayDEE ihAFlVlN
ValWhiting went from Ursuline
Academy to Stanlord Univer-
sity to the WNBA, where she
plays lor the Detroit Shock.
be James Worthy."
The teen-agers at the
Women in Sports Day luncJreon
at Wesley College on Sunday
do have the opportunity to be
the next Wlriting.
Andthemore Whitings
there are, and the more they
come back, and the nlore
they inspire others, the more
See PRESENT-C4
_ _..,-.-+.:*,#,if

8. I
ffiffiffiffi ffiffiffi &tutu-ffiwffiffi wffiffiffi
[{$ot all abour the money
NBA, WI.{BA hope
clinics promote
reading, education
By DOUG LESTilER|SES
Staff reporter
_ WILMINGTON _ Tamisha
tl_ad(son speaks for many sports
tans.
, "I.don't think basketball play_
ff iriisl9":i:f,i'$,'f tJ,nHlltmought sports was all about-the
money"
.^ -J-ugk..oq
is.a woman of opin_
rons,. b]rt she is most passionate
about the education and opportu-
nities &r h-er g-year-ota s'dn f,e_
shawn Smith. Monday
)All-Star Weekend
schedule ........ G6
afternoon,
Jackson
sat on a
wooden
bleacher
clarence Flaim Boys utn* .ilf;and.changed. he1 4qind about pro_
ressronal basketball.
That's what the NBA and WNBA
wer-e h_onins for. With an ait_Stai
week clinic aimed at gettingkids to
read and leaniing the fundamentals
of teamwork and sportsmanshio.
the leagues are taking steps in ttie
cornmuutyto get their "Books and
Basketball" message out to chil_
dren. lt s_ure doesn,t hurt if the
momsanddads getthe word, too
. "'l'o_come out and care enough
to tell kids to read, I have a new_
t:9l,ld respect_for the league,,,
Jackson said. ,,Now
it's more-than
Iust me andfiis teachers telling
'#f_.#Xl.l*l#i$fl
[il*l,XtiUrsuline grad VaI Whitine_Rav-
mond was the main speakei who
Sgc.heg out to 50 kids wearing Jr:
VBA/Jr.- WNBA T-shirts anO-fol_
,$]!?"1.,33f"T-,,thereague-issued
,..Iormer NBA player Buck
rylltams-was also supposed toppea1 aJ Mo4day's ctiiiit, lut frianceled_at the last minute and
ormel University of Delawiie
riayer Robdrf .lact<ion stennea]
""
,,.,u-i,nJu;3ffi:ll'#'flyJ$'33i?T"1fj,f:,ffi[li,HT,'j^'#I",tK1Whiting.Raymono...nffi

9. Clinic: More to the game than fun
FROM PASE Cl
Whiting-Raymond, the Stan-
ford graduate who is training
for her second season with the
WNBAs Minnesota Lynx, was
more than capable of carrying
the load, getting out of her chair
to scream, twice, the final pas-
sage of the NBAs Read to
Achieve pledge as the kids re-
peated after her.
..READING
WILL HELP ME
BETI{EBESTICANBE!"
'jStaying in school, reading,
listening to your coach - those
messages can have a huge im-
pact coming from professional
basketball players," Whiting-
Raymond said.
The clinic was one of four
that took place around the
Philadelphia area Monday They
served as the kickoff to All-Star
week, which culminates with
Sunday's NBA All-Star game.
The Fraim Boys & Girls Club
was chosen because of its good
reputation and because it is a
member of the Jr. NBA/Jr.
WNBA basketball program.
The first-year program helps
youth l,9agues, providing whisfles,
clipbodrds, certificates and pliayer
and parent manuatrs to
organizations that applied to be af
filiates. Yolanda Panish-Poindex-
te{, the physical education direc-
tor at the Fraim Club, saw a
commercial for the program last
year, sent in an application and
watchedthefree stuff pour in.
Newark Parks and Recre-
ation and the Dover Air Force
Base Boys & Giris Club and
Youth Center are the only other
groups in Delaware to take ad-
vantage of the program.
At the Fbaim Club, participa-
tion in the basketball league
doubled to 150 children as par-
ents and kids noticed the clirb's
mention on www.nba.com.
'"The kidS think, 'If I'm Jr.
NBA or Jr. WBNA now, then
when I grow up I can be in the
NBA or WNBA,'" Parrish-
Poindexter said. "They're so
proud to be part of it."
The Fraim league also uses
NBA and WNBA jerseys ordered
from the program, jerseys the
players wear even off the court.
That added to the weight of
Whiting-Raymond's words. For
45 minutes, the kids listened and
asked q4estions. Then came 45
minuteS of dribbling, passing
and defense drills.
"That showed thern there's
more to the game than just the
garre," saidBear's Jim Rayfield,
there to watch his 7-year-old
daughter Natasha. "It's not all
about fun, it's not all about bas-
ketball. But then they got to
havefun."
As they lined up for an auto-
graph from Whiting-Raymond,
there were laughs and smiles
and hints of a message received.
As for Tamisha Jackson, she
was already in a good mood.
When her son brought home his
Latest report cardfrom the fourth
grade at Richardson Parks Ele-
mentary he had boosted his
grade in reading from a B to an
A. As areward, Jackson istaking
Leshawn to the NBA Jam Ses-
sion on Saturday an interactive
exhibit that's part of All-Star
week. It will be a day to remem-
be4 but she also hopes he doesrt't
forget what he was told Monday
"Hopeftrlly after what he saw
today" Jackson said, "his grade
next marking period will be an
A-plus."
dlegnedses@dehwareon li ne. com