Game Changer

Former pro basketball player SHARAE MANSFIELD, benched by arthritis, is finding new ways to win.

 

- Linda Childers

ShaRae Mansfield vividly remembers getting the call 17 years ago saying the Houston Comets had drafted her to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). For the Western Kentucky University (WKU)student, the chance to play professional basketball was a dream come true.

But her WNBA career was shortlived. While she had mad skills on the court, excelling at both points and rebounds, she also had frequent pain in her shoulders, hips and especially her left knee, made worse by a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). ShaRae had undergone six surgeries on it, but her continued knee problems led the Comets to release her before she completed even her first season.

Disappointed, the Louisville, Kentucky, native ventured overseas, playing basketball for a few months in Israel. But her pain and stiffness took such a toll physically and emotionally that she made the tough decision to retire from playing basketball.

Adjusting to life without sports also proved difficult, and ShaRae found herself struggling with depression.

“I had identified for so many years as a basketball player and athlete that I wasn’t sure what to do next,” she says.

To cope, she focused on finishing her college degree, with plans to pursue a career helping others. She graduated in 2005, and her oldest daughter was born the following year.

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