WNBA greats Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter and Alana Beard headline the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 that was announced Friday.
Also inducted on June 14 will be Mark Campbell, the longtime Union University coach, as well as Lucille Kyvallos, who led West Chester College and Queens College to early success. Women's Basketball Coaches Association executive director Danielle Donehew completes the class.
“We are honored to pay tribute to seven distinguished legends of this exceptional sport,” WBHOF President Dana Hart said. “They exemplify the highest standards in women’s basketball and have made substantial contributions to the sport along with shaping the game's historical trajectory.”
Bird has won at every level, including five Olympic gold medals, four WNBA championships with Seattle and two NCAA titles while at UConn.
The 12-time All-Star, who also won four world championships with the U.S., retired in 2022. That was the same season that Fowles ended her playing career.
Fowles won WNBA titles with Minnesota in 2015 and 2017 and was MVP of the Finals both times. She also was on four of the Olympic champion teams with Bird. The former LSU star was on the WNBA all-defensive team eight times.
Beard was a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She won a WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016.
Pondexter won two WNBA championships with Phoenix in 2007 and 2009 and was the Finals MVP the first time. She earned Big East Player of the Year honors while starring for Rutgers and led the Scarlet Knights to a 97-22 record and consecutive conference titles in 2005 and 2006. She won Olympic gold in 2008 with Bird and Fowles.
Kyvallos coached at West Chester from 1962-66 and Queens College from 1968-80 and 1981-82. She won 80.91% of her games, going 311-73. She was coaching Queens when the team was part of the first women's college basketball game at Madison Square Garden that drew over 12,000 fans.
Campbell has been coaching at Division II Union University for 26 seasons and has gone 742-116 at the NAIA school. His team won NAIA championships in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010.
Donehew has been the executive director of the WBCA since 2014 and has helped the organization grow over the last decade. Before that, she worked for her alma mater Georgia Tech as well as Tennessee, the Atlanta Dream, the Big East and American Athletic Conference.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
FILE - Team Wilson's Sylvia Fowles waves to fans as she walks down to the court before a WNBA All-Star basketball game against Team Stewart in Chicago, Sunday, July 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Sparks guard Alana Beard, right, drives past Minnesota Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen during the second half in Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
FILE - Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird reacts to fans chanting "Thank you Sue" after the Storm were eliminated from the playoffs with a loss in Game 4 of a WNBA basketball playoff semifinal to the Las Vegas Aces, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani has relinquished dozens of watches and a Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall to two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment, according to his lawyer Friday.
Joseph Cammarata said in a letter filed late Friday in Manhattan federal court that the trove of watches and a ring were delivered by FedEx to a bank in Atlanta, Georgia, in the morning.
The 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 was turned over at an address in Hialeah, Florida, and an undisclosed amount of funds from Giuliani’s Citibank accounts were also surrendered to the two women who won the judgment, according to the letter.
But Cammarata argued that forcing Giuliani to relinquish his luxury vehicle was “wholly improper” as the car should have been appraised first.
If the value of the Mercedes turned out to be less than $5,500, then it should be exempt from the judgment under law, he argued in the letter.
If it’s determined to be worth more than that, then it should be auctioned off, with some of the proceeds going to the two women — Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
“This is how the proper enforcement of these assets should work,” Cammarata wrote in bolded text. “Just ordering the vehicle to be turned over to the Plaintiffs without any appraisal has taken away Defendant’s statutory and constitutional rights.”
The letter also goes on to argue that some of Giuliani’s other possessions should also be exempt from the judgment under New York and Florida law.
That includes all apparel — even a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio that's part of the judgment — and all household furniture as well as a refrigerator, radio receiver, television set, computer, cellphone, tableware and cooking utensils, the letter stated.
Cammarata noted there are also legal exemptions for jewelry with a value under $1,325 — meaning his watches and other items should also get appraised — and that there's exemptions for “tools of trade,” including “professional instruments, furniture and library” items that don’t exceed $4,075 in value.
It's not immediately clear what else Giuliani surrendered to meet Friday's deadline.
The former mayor's $5 million Upper East Side apartment was among the other big ticket items named in the judgment, along with the 26 watches, his 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 and the signed DiMaggio shirt.
Cammarata and other representatives for Giuliani didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for the two women, declined to comment.
On Thursday evening, Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman posted a video on the social platform X from a FedEx store in Florida, where he showed at least 18 watches and a ring laid out on a table that he said were being turned over.
“This right here folks, this is the accumulation of 60 years of hard work,” Goodman said as the video panned over the array of black, brown, gold and silver-banded timepieces. “Many of these watches hold great sentimental value and he’s being forced to turn all these over under court order.”
“What’s happening is wrong," he continued. "It’s shameful and we must restore the integrity of the U.S. justice system.”
Cammarata, in his Friday letter, also asked to delay Giuliani’s January trial over the disposition of some of his assets so that he can attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
He also confirmed that he has stepped in as Giuliani’s new legal counsel after the previous attorneys asked the court’s permission this week to stop representing Giuliani, citing disagreements with him.
Giuliani has claimed he was the victim of a “political vendetta” and that he expects to win on appeal and get all his possessions back.
“This is a case of political persecution,” he said last week following an appearance in Manhattan federal court. “There isn’t a person (who) doesn’t know the judgment is ridiculous.”
Representatives for Freeman and Moss said last week that they visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment only to discover it was cleared out well before the October deadline.
Giuliani was found liable for defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud as he pushed Trump’s unsubstantiated election fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign.
The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani accused them of sneaking in ballots in suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the members of the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
