Sheryl Swoopes

As a result of Title IX, and a new generation of parents who want their daughters to have the opportunities they never had, women's sports have arrived.

For me, honestly, it's not about individual accomplishments, individual award. It's about what I've got to do and how I can contribute to the team.

Some people might say my coming out after just winning the MVP award is heroic, and I understand that.

Being gay has nothing to do with the three gold medals or the three MVPs or the four championships I've won. I'm still the same person. I'm Sheryl.

I'm finally OK with the idea of who I love, who I want to be with.

I can't help who I fall in love with. No one can.

No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.

I'm at a place in my life right now where I'm very happy, very content. I'm finally OK with the idea of who I love, who I want to be with.

Discovering I'm gay just sort of happened much later in life.

There is nothing I've been through in my life that I regret, or that I would go back and change. I feel like everything that happened - personally and professionally - I went through for a reason, and I learned from those things.

I've accomplished everything a person can accomplish on a basketball court, but I never thought about the future when I was younger. I never made plans for the next stage in my life.

I've always been a firm believer in mind over matter. If you don't believe you can achieve, your body will start to believe this and you'll be stuck.