When the first American professional sports league for women came into existence, it signed its first player with a bang. Sheryl Swoopes, who had just won a gold with Team USA at the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, announced in January 1997 that she was expecting her first child with then-husband Eric Jackson. But before making it official, Swoopes now reveals, she was rather taken aback at the turn her life had taken.

In the first episode of the iHeartPodcasts’ ‘Levels to This’ podcast with Terrika Foster-Brasby, Swoopes discusses motherhood and how it all began for her. “I took 6 home pregnancy tests. I know I could have stopped after the first one. I did 6 because, after the first one, I was like, ‘Okay maybe I did something wrong,'” the retired pro laughs now. “So I took the second one, same result, and I was like, ‘Now I know how it happened, but it can’t be real.'”

In a way, it was a strange time to be a woman in sports for many. Swoopes then gives her reasoning, “Let me tell you why I took 6. It wasn’t because I wasn’t excited about it. It was the unknown. I was scared of becoming a mom. And also the league was about to start. I had signed a contract to play and now I’m pregnant. So my first thought was, ‘Now what?'”

As Foster-Brasby points out, part of Swoopes must have been in denial, especially given the professional precipice she teetered on. About to embark on a huge personal journey as well as doing something entirely unseen in women’s sports, Sheryl Swoopes knew she had to talk to her agent, the league, her sponsors, everyone. One can imagine what she thought their reactions might be since it’s all too easy to propound the words ‘career woman’ as a myth. But looking back on it from a 2024 perspective, the former Houston Comets icpn can also boast her 3 MVPs.

After making sure that the tests really said what she thought, Swoopes finally called her doctor. “So I took 6 home pregnancy tests before I called my doctor and said, ‘I need to make an appointment, I think I might be pregnant.’ And he said, ‘Well, what do you mean you think?'”, the former pro says on the podcast. “And I said, ‘Well I took 6 home pregnancy tests and they all came back positive.’ And he said, ‘Well Sheryl you could have stopped after the first one,'” she tells Foster-Brasby.

Swoopes can talk about it now more lightheartedly. But once, it must have been a bitterly difficult situation. It impacted her rookie year as she only came in to play in the last few weeks of the 1997 season. This is the very reason why her rookie season cannot be compared to the ‘Iowa sensation’.

There is no rookie comparison of Sheryl Swoopes vs. Caitlin Clark

The Caitlin Clark-Sheryl Swoopes dynamic is a twisted one, and despite both of them being talented players, their rookie years are not exactly comparable. What CC is doing for the league right now, Swoopes might have done it once upon a time had she played the full season. Given that the No. 22 played the full season from May to September and hardly missed any games, the comparison to Sheryl Swoopes would be unfair, who played just 9 games in her rookie year.

Nevertheless, some of the preconceived notions about pregnant athletes still exist in the W that need to be addressed. As Arizona State basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne told the AP last year, “We’re light years ahead of where we were, you know, 20-some years ago in terms of people understanding that they have to support women’s rights.” And yet, “there is pressure on you as the athlete, as the coach, as that person, that woman either starting their family or having kids, to get back to their job” after childbirth.

The collective bargaining agreement from 2020 still provides some support to athletes on maternity leave or bringing in their kids to work sometimes. But there is still some work to be done!