By Tuti Scott, Former Chief Development Officer, Womens Sports Foundation
While at the Women's Sports Foundation for more than 10 years, I had the opportunity to meet many outstanding people in a variety of fields. Our contributors are passionate and committed to making the world better for girls and women. They give generously to issues that are integral to giving girls and women the chance to succeed and be celebrated. Lissa McLean was one of these passionate contributors, and she was also a friend.
I had the honor of meeting Lissa McLean at our annual benefit Dinner, where we realized we had a shared connection – we both loved women's basketball. We went to lunch the next day, and she shared with me how this came to be. Her life had not included sports until her 40s when she was watching TV and saw a WNBA game. I continually learn from women like Lissa who teach me about what sport can affirm for you later in life. For her it was seeing women take up space, be proud of their powerful and strong bodies, and be role models as public speakers and heroes for all. As a basketball player who had experienced these gifts personally from sport, I enjoyed rediscovering these qualities, and it reaffirmed to me why the work of the Women's Sports Foundation is so important.
Lissa was an amazing and dedicated fan and attended WNBA games all over the country. She would buy season tickets, All-Star tickets and tickets to women's sports events, inviting family, friends and people less fortunate than her, and sharing her passion for the game with them. I loved joining her at games and hearing her explain the roster to a new fan, introducing them to a player's life with the stats, and how to watch one player and learn the game through her role and moves. She also took pride in making sure fans of the NBA games she attended knew about the success of their sister team.
As we shared more about our lives over time, Lissa and I bonded in a much deeper way. We talked about our working-class backgrounds and the pride we both had in succeeding in our jobs even without the resources and connections of our peers. We shared our love of women's history and learning from biographies of women we read throughout our life. When she found out she had lung cancer at age 46, the same disease that my mother had died of two years previously, our relationship took on another level.
I was in awe of her courage through fighting and then ultimately surrendering to the disease. This past summer, she sought out the refuge of her favorite team, the Mystics, to provide for a healthy distraction through her chemotherapy. She would share with a close circle of family and friends very clearly her strategy and her struggles with the disease. I was honored to listen, to learn and to remind her regularly how amazing she was in leading her family and friends through such a difficult process. Losing someone we love happens to all of us at some point; having that person be so present and clear about what she needs and wants as her legacy is a gift to give our loved ones.
Any time the Women's Sports Foundation needed a representative to join us on Capitol Hill, to attend a press conference or host a luncheon, Lissa would always come through and rearrange her schedule to be there. During the last weeks of her life, she and I talked about what the Women's Sports Foundation meant to her and how we could honor our relationship and our passion for basketball. She shared how she wanted people to contribute to her favorite charities in lieu of flying to a memorial service and as a way to honor her life. I shared with her how my internship at the Foundation had given me the chance to succeed as a professional. Together we decided that we would endow an internship in our names at the Foundation to provide an opportunity for a young woman to grow professionally and contribute to the advancement of women's basketball.
Knowing that I have joined with someone who is so special to me in creating a legacy for both of us fills me with great pride. I welcome you in joining me as Lissa and I continue the next level of our relationship – the creation and legacy of the Lissa McLean/Tuti Scott internship at the Women's Sports Foundation. This will mean a lot to me, to Lissa's spirit and to her family – to create a place that offers what we both needed in our careers – a chance to succeed as professionals in an environment that celebrates what sport gives us all.