The Guru WNBA Report: Ariel Atkins: The Big Assist - Athletes Helping Others

By Andy Lipton Leading the ‘Break

Pick your favorite metaphor from this menu: It’s in her blood. It’s part of her DNA. It’s wrapped up in her soul. It goes to the core of who she is. 

The “it” is Ariel Atkin’s desire and willingness to help others. As she puts it, “that’s what we’re here for, right?”

Ariel Atkins, the talented and honored high school, college, and professional basketball player, an Olympic gold medalist and WBNA champion, has been helping others for a long time, with an affinity towards young people, and in the different communities in which she has been rooted.

She has played professional basketball for the Washington Mystics for the past seven years; it’s the only WNBA team for whom she has played.

 Last August, Ariel signed a two-year contract to continue playing for the Mystics, in part because of her commitment to continue to help the Washington, DC, community where the Mystics are located.

There doesn’t seem to be a seminal moment in Ariel’s life that sparked her desire to help others. 

The influence of a close, loving and large family, with parents, siblings, and many aunts, uncles and cousins, seeped in, as did her small hometown community of Duncanville where people helped each other. 

Many people helped her along the way. And her mom was a believer in giving back.

Here is a glimpse of just some of the things she has done in her communities: 

Hometown Community of Duncanville, Texas

Her high school basketball coach Cathy-Self-Morgan believed in helping the community. 

Ariel helped run camps for the girls in her school district and events for the Duncanville Lions Club. 

As part of a high school leadership class, she mentored elementary school students.

As a high school senior Ariel was honored as the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, a highly prestigious award that goes to a very talented basketball player with outstanding character, success in the classroom and communal work.

 College Community of Austin, Texas

A star player at the University of Texas, Ariel was involved in a myriad community activities, including volunteering for Austin Parks and Recreation, Austin Pets Alive, creating and running a number of basketball camps in East Austin, and mentoring middle school kids in East Austin.

Community in Washington, DC - Home of the Mystics

Ariel started her own foundation, the Ariel Atkins Foundation, which had it’s first event this past October in which in conjunction with the Lids Foundation, $25,000 was donated for school supplies for all the classes in a small elementary school in the District of Columbia that the teachers and students needed.

Ariel was motivated to do this by relatives, including her sister, and friends who are educators.

She has a few events planned for the Foundation including an event for the Boys and Girls Club relating to leadership and entrepreneurship. She would like to do three or four events a year, including another school donation event, and a wellness and movement event.

And Ariel is also part of the VOICEINSPORT program which has partnered with the WNBA to have a number of WNBA players virtually mentor girls and women in sports. 

Her first session was on the topic of avoiding comparison so as to pave your own way - while still being able to look up to people - and avoid envying other people,

Whatever metaphor you choose to describe Ariel Atkins, you may actually have chosen reality rather than metaphor.