The Women’s Playbook

Black women have always been the blueprint. Whether making moves on the hardwood or signing million-dollar deals in the boardroom, they know how to make the magic happen. The embodiment of power and grace, they dazzle us at the helm of teams like the Las Vegas Aces, which under president Nikki Fargas secured its second consecutive WNBA Championship this year; Orr they show their expertise in the corporate world, like mom-ager Felicia Jones, who inked a five-year, $260 million contract for her son, quarterback Lamar Jackson, making him the highest-paid NFL player by average annual salary.

Meet the trailblazers who are smashing through barriers and lighting the way for other women to follow. The power players who appear here possess an innate knowledge of how to shape the world by infusing it with their tenacity and brilliance. They have not just redefined the game, but they’ve also become iconic leaders, role models and catalysts for change. From ball courts that pulse with energy to sprawling fields of dreams; from the grand stages of the Olympics to the hallowed halls of sports management, these women are rewriting the rule book and making the realm of sports better each day. For our ESENCE Black Women In Sports Leadership list, we’ve highlighted the MVPs who have reinvented the game in ways that are anything but ordinary.

Proud HBCU alum and former Howard Bison, Coach Conway is now paying it forward. She’s already racked up numerous accolades, including being named as one of the Top 50 volleyball players of all time in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and winning the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl MVP title during her debut season coaching the Delta Devils. She is working to build a team with a goal to conquer the Southwestern -Athletic Conference (SWAC) next year.

Lockwood made a pivotal play in her career by getting hired as an associate performance coach with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2023 offseason, after having joined the organization as a strength and conditioning associate the year prior. Before working with the Eagles, Lockwood held sports performance roles at the University of Houston, East Tennessee State and University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ football programs. She also contributed to strength and conditioning efforts for the University of Arizona’s Olympic sports. 

Since the 2020-21 season, Nichols has held the role of GM for the Capital City Go-Go, the NBA G League affiliate of the Washington Wizards. She started with Go-Go in their 2018-19 season, when she assumed the role of Director of Basketball Operations at 26. As GM, she became only the second woman in management in NBA G League history. She holds the distinction of being the sole Black female GM in the league—and is one of three women in total. Under Nichols, 10 players received NBA call-ups, and the team reached the second round of the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.

Marshall has served as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks since March 2018, when she became the first Black woman CEO in the NBA. Under her guidance, the Mavericks are winning both on and off the court—in 2022, the Mavs won the NBA Inclusion Leadership Award, due to the franchise’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Marshall is on several corporate boards, and her achievements have earned her recognition by Forbes as one of the world’s most inspiring female leaders in 2021. Her first book, You’ve Been Chosen, was nominated for an NAACP Image award. 

King has posted many firsts. In 2020, she made history as the first Black woman assistant position coach for the Washington Commanders. A year later she became the first Black woman to serve as a primary position coach in an NFL game. Her road to the NFL included stints with the Carolina Panthers and the Topps Alliance of American Football. From 2006 to 2017, King was a seven-time All-American quarterback and wide receiver for the Carolina Phoenix women’s tackle football team.

Thomas is fighting the good fight and working to create more equitable representation for Black stars through Diverse Representation, advocating for increased Black presence in  sports and entertainment through the hiring of Black agents, attorneys, managers and publicists. Notably, her inaugural Black Ownership in Sports Symposium counseled Black professionals on the intricacies of acquiring and owning professional sports teams. In 2023, the brand introduced a new holiday, National Black Women in Sports Day on July 7—dedicated to celebrating the achievements of Black women in sports.

Leading the way in advancing collegiate sports programs, Baker Barnes’s contributions have earned her recognition from the New Orleans Pelicans and helped her win the prestigious Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year Award in 2019. She first stepped into her current role in 2019, working as an interim commissioner. She assumed the title officially in 2022, becoming the first African-American female commissioner in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC).

After four seasons as an assistant and player development coach for the Sacramento Kings, Harding is now at the helm of the Stockton Kings, the NBA G League affiliate of the NBA team. She started in the NBA in 2018, as a full-time NBA scout, the first Black woman to do so. In 2019, she became a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. The former top pick in the 2007 WNBA draft, she’s played internationally, in Turkey, Lithuania and Russia, and even made an appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Belarus women’s national team. 

Fargas is creating a Cinderella story with the Las Vegas Aces, where  she hopes to build a dynasty. A pivotal part of the Lady Vols’ NCAA Championship victory in 1991, she then transitioned from player to coach, leading UCLA to two NCAA Tournament appearances and earning a Pac-12 Coach of the Year title in 2010. For a decade, Fargas helmed the LSU Women’s Basketball team, guiding them to six NCAA Tournament appearances. In her current role, she has steered the Aces to unparalleled success—with the top WNBA game attendance, the league’s first purpose-built facility and the franchise’s two consecutive WNBA Championship wins. 

Lynn’s reputation precedes her. With her law license in hand, she embarked on a dual career as an attorney and a certified NFLPA and NBPA sports agent. She became the first Black woman to represent a Top 3 NFL draft pick in 2019, when she represented defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The following year she did it again, representing consecutive Top 10 NFL draft picks. Among her notable achievements was brokering a record–breaking, five-year, $255 million deal for Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, who became one of the NFL’s highest-paid players. 

Gayle has made it her life’s work to contribute to the sports industry in a positive way. She’s steering the ship at Twenty Six Entertainment (TSE), a sports marketing agency that represents athletes from major league soccer players to pro boxers. As the first Black woman to independently represent NFL and MLS players as the VP of Talent Marketing at GSE Worldwide, Gayle also cofounded Bloom, an empowerment resource designed to help women shatter barriers.

Douglass Morgan is in the sports vanguard as the
president of the Las Vegas Raiders and the first Black female team president in the history of the NFL. She also serves
as the vice chair of the Super Bowl LVIII Host Committee
and as a trustee for the UNLV Foundation. The pioneering Black female team president is committed to ensuring that she paves the way for many more Black women to follow in her footsteps.

Despite her 5′ 2″ stature, Miller has made colossal strides as the first-ever female general manager in the NBA G League. Her journey in sports management has included an internship with the Phoenix Suns and a general manager position with the College Park Skyhawks. Her rapid ascent in the basketball world led to the Atlanta Hawks appointing her Vice President of Player Personnel/Basketball Intelligence, solidifying her position as one of the highest-ranking women in NBA front-office roles.

In 2022, Wright transitioned from her WNBA playing career to take over as head coach of the Atlanta Dream. A 2005 first-round draft pick, Wright was a guard with the Seattle Storm for a  decade, with nine consecutive playoff appearances and a Championship. She also  played with the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx before retiring. In her debut season, Wright earned the Associated Press Coach of the Year award and clinched second place in the WNBA Kia Coach of the Year rankings.