The Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, hosted its annual Women’s Impact game, presented by National Grid, at Nassau Coliseum. During the evening, the team honored its’ WNBA sister team, the New York Liberty, in a variety of ways, including players wearing co-branded Liberty x LI Nets jerseys, designed to resemble the Liberty’s signature seafoam uniforms. The jerseys were sponsored by Webull and National Grid and will be auctioned at a later date with proceeds going towards Pink Cans for Cancer, a non-profit supporting breast cancer research and cancer treatment.
“The New York Liberty are an embodiment of strength and courage,” said Alton Byrd, Senior Vice President of Growth Properties at BSE Global, parent company of the Long Island Nets. “Encouraging girls and women to dream big and strive for excellence is important to our organization, and we are proud to work alongside the Liberty to promote this important cause.”
The first 1,000 fans in attendance received co-branded LI Nets and Liberty NBA Jam t-shirts, and the Liberty’s Timeless Torches dance team performed at halftime. Prior to tipoff, the LI Nets also hosted a panel discussion for ticket holders featuring notable women in business and sports. Panelists included New York Liberty Legend, Sue Wicks; Founder of Girls Talk Sports TV, Khristina Williams; PeacePlayers Brooklyn Director, Alesha Smith; and Brooklyn Nets and Long Island Nets in-arena host, Ally Melendez.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our second consecutive Women’s Impact game with the Long Island Nets as part of the BSE family,” said New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke. “The Liberty are New York’s team and having Seafoam represented on Long Island is a great example of consistent allyship and recognition. We look forward to this becoming a long-standing collaboration where we collectively inspire women and support our community partners.”
Ensuring the local community was part of the team’s overarching Women’s Impact Night celebrations, the LI Nets partnered with Jovia Financial Credit Union to host a financial literacy summit for a group of young girls from Girls Inc. Long Island. The event took place on Feb. 1 and featured a conversation with the team’s in-arena host Ally Melendez and women from LI Nets’ business staff, followed by a basketball clinic at Nassau Coliseum.
About the Long Island Nets
The Long Island Nets are the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. The team started NBA G League play during the 2016-17 season and presently plays its home game at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. The Nets have reached the postseason twice and won one Eastern Conference Championship, reaching the NBA G League Finals in 2019. For more information, please visit longislandnets.com and follow @longislandnets on Twitter and Instagram.
About New York Liberty
The New York Liberty was founded on October 30, 1996 and is one of three original franchises remaining in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Liberty have made four WNBA Finals appearances in its 26-year history. Owned by Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, owners of the Brooklyn Nets, the Liberty play its home games at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. For more information, please visit www.nyliberty.com.