American athletes, and black athletes in particular, have a storied history of utilizing their platform for the purpose of political expression. A new academic and current affairs forum at Princeton University, The Sports, Race and Society Lecture made possible by the Stephen C. Mills ’81 Fund, will explore the implications and possibilities of uniting sport with the American experiment, the obligation that executives in the governance of sport ought to fulfill to athletes and communities, and the impact of athletes as citizens and influential community members. The Center for African American Studies at Princeton University along with the Princeton University Department of Athletics are committed, with the support of the Mills Fund, to continuing this forum for years to come, as a newly endowed lecture series at the University.
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Sports, Race and Society Lecture: LEADHERS
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Sports, Race and Society Lecture: LEADHERS
Monday, February 20, 2024
The "Sports, Race and Society Lecture" featured a conversation with accomplished athletes and current professional sports executives Swin Cash, Allison Feaster, and Nyaka Niilampti '97. Cash (Vice President of Basketball Operations & Team Development, New Orleans Pelicans), Feaster (Vice President of Team Operations & Organizational Growth, Boston Celtics), and Niilampti (Vice President of Wellness and Clinical Services, National Football League) were joined by Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack '00. They discussed their individual journeys to distinguished leadership roles within two of the most prominent men's professional sports leagues in the world.
Learn more about the featured speakers:
Swin Cash-Canal, an illustrious Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, currently serves as the Vice President of Basketball Operations & Team Development for the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. A three-time WNBA champion (2003, 2006, 2010), four-time WNBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2009, 2011), and two-time WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2009, 2011), Cash also helped lead the U.S. Women's National Team to two Olympic gold medals (2004, 2012) and was named one of the WNBA's Top 20 Best and Most Influential players. Cash also covered sports and culture for several media outlets, including Turner Sports, CBS Sports, and MSG Network.
Off the court, she founded Cash for Kids, a charity whose mission is to motivate, educate & elevate kids through physical fitness, nutrition, education, cultural trips, and sports camps. In addition to her non-profit contributions, Cash also founded She's Got Time – a Women in Sports Organization whose mission is to create a diverse ecosystem of culture and resources while inspiring an intergenerational community of Women in Sports through interactive summits, the art of storytelling, authentic athleisure wear, and networking. She is proud to have worked extensively with the NBA as a global ambassador for social responsibility and civil rights. Although Cash holds many titles, there are none greater to her than that of a wife to her husband – Steve Canal, and mother to their two boys – Saint Cash-Canal and Syer Cash-Canal.
Allison Feaster is Vice President of Team Operations & Organizational Growth for the Boston Celtics. She is a former professional basketball player, a global citizen, and a trailblazer in the sports industry who is highly regarded for her leadership and teambuilding skills. During her decorated college basketball career, Feaster was the first player in any sport to be honored as Ivy League Player of the Year three times, leading the first-ever NCAA Division-I Tournament upset of No. 16 seed Harvard against No. 1 seed Stanford. She was a first-round WNBA draft pick and went on to an 17-year professional playing career in the US, Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal.
Following her retirement from playing in 2016, Feaster joined the NBA's Basketball Operations Management Development Program. After serving as the lead of Player Personnel & Coach Relations for the NBA G-League, she joined the Boston Celtics organization where she currently leads Team Operations & Organizational Growth.
Beyond the court, Feaster serves on the NCAA's Board of Governors, and she is co-lead for Boston Celtics United, the Celtics' social justice initiative to impact social and racial inequities in Black and Brown communities in Greater Boston. She maintains her role as an active public speaker, a champion of the advancement of women and girls, and serves as a global advocate for sport, including serving as a Sports Envoy for the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Feaster is a graduate of Harvard College (BA, Economics) and the Universidad Europea (MBA).
Dr. Nyaka Niilampti '97 serves as the National Football League's Vice President of Wellness and Clinical Services. A four-year track and field letterwinner, Niilampti graduated from Princeton with a bachelor's degree in psychology before earning her master's in sport psychology and exercise sport science at UNC and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Temple University. She taught psychology courses as an assistant professor at Queens University of Charlotte until 2016 before transitioning to a career as the Director of Player Wellness with the NFL Players Association. During her time with the NFLPA she helped educate professional football players on different aspects of their wellness, with an emphasis on mental health and substance abuse.
In her current role, Nillampti heads the NFL's Total Wellness and Mental Health platforms, helping to oversee areas such as overall wellness, family safety, healthy lifestyle development, and transition support through clinical resources, education and awareness efforts, peer-to-peer connections, research, etc. She is a critical player in advancing the NFL's Player Engagement mission of making a positive impact inside and outside of the NFL family.
While at Princeton, Niilampti focused her thesis on the psychological impact sport can have on women. She has also co-authored a book called "The Career Game Plan: Preparing Student Athletes to Compete and Win in the World of Work." -
Race & The NFL: A Conversation with Michael Bennett
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Race & The NFL: A Conversation with Michael Bennett
March 11, 2019
Bennett, a defensive end who made sports headlines last week when he was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New England Patriots, flexed a different set of muscles on the Princeton stage. In a wide-ranging conversation, Bennett and Eddie Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, professor of religion and chair of the Department of African American Studies, explored the influence and relationship of the NFL to issues around race and the black experience.
Bennett and Eddie Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, professor of religion and chair of the Department of African American Studies, explored the influence and relationship of the NFL to issues around race.
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Political Expression and Activism in Today’s NBA with Adam Silver
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Political Expression and Activism in Today’s NBA with Adam Silver
March 24, 2015
The inaugural event in the series, a conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, New York Knicks General Manager Steve Mills ’81, ESPN analyst Craig Robinson ’83, and Eddie S. Glaude Jr., chair of the Center for African American Studies. The Ford Family Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux ’91 will give opening remarks.