leadership role in the players\u2019 union<\/a>, where does she find the time?<\/p>\n\u201cI like always having something to do,\u201d she told the Sun-Times.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s led a multidisciplinary lifestyle since her days at Duke, where she finished top 10 in NCAA history in blocks while also discovering she wanted to be a doctor. She got to shadow doctors during an internship and thought to herself, \u201cI would love to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now she\u2019s one step closer. She completed a degree through Arizona State\u2019s online global health program, taking advantage of a partnership between the WNBA and the players\u2019 union that covers tuition.<\/p>\n
With fewer players going overseas in the offseason, she said, more of them are taking advantage of such programs. This past offseason, she interned with the Sky\u2019s team doctor and focused on mental health.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a subject she believes should be treated more like physical health.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like we get checklists at physicals, you can do that with your mental health,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a misconception that things have to be going wrong before you talk to someone, and that\u2019s not necessarily the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was especially interested in different approaches to therapy, including dance movement therapy, and how blending them with medicine can lead to better outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the way the world is more globalized and we have more technology, anxiety is heightened,\u201d Williams said. \u201cFiguring out different ways that different cultures and people have figured out how to attack mental health was really interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall, the experience deepened her worldview and commitment to empathy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see people as more similar than they are different,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople have similar struggles, but we try to put a label on it and say, \u2018Oh, if you\u2019re from this place, or if you grew up this way.\u2019 But in a lot of ways, we\u2019re really similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
That shapes how she leads in the WNBA, too. On the court, she\u2019s a defensive anchor, known for being in the right place at the right time. But she also helps defend the league\u2019s values \u2014 and the struggle to preserve them as the league grows.<\/p>\n
In the wake of George Floyd\u2019s murder in 2020, she played a key role in the player-led campaign to unseat then-Sen. (and Dream co-owner) Kelly Loeffler, who criticized the league\u2019s support of Black Lives Matter. Players backed the Rev. Raphael Warnock, helping him become Georgia\u2019s first Black senator. Loeffler later sold the team.<\/p>\n
Williams also joined the union\u2019s executive committee ahead of the 2020 collective bargaining agreement \u2014 a deal that raised the veteran minimum salary from $56,000 to $78,831.<\/p>\n
Now she\u2019s back at the bargaining table. Players haven\u2019t fully spelled out what they\u2019re asking for in the upcoming deal, but it\u2019s clear they want a raise \u2014 and maybe even a shift in pay structure that gives them more access to the league\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n
Stepping into leadership has been a gradual but intentional process for Williams. People ask her to get involved, and once she does, they come to rely on her.<\/p>\n
Sky guard Rachel Banham, the team\u2019s union rep, leans on Williams often. When asked whether she understood a nuance in the league\u2019s expansion plans, Banham shrugged: \u201cElizabeth probably knows \u2014 \u2019cause she\u2019s smart.\u201d<\/p>\n
That she is.<\/p>\n
And when her WNBA days are over? She\u2019s still planning to become a doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always get asked when I wanna go, because I\u2019d be 40 [years old] in med school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But if that\u2019s starting late, so be it. For Williams, it will probably be the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n