Maeshaila Boggan 
Candace Nicole Parker was born on April 19, 1986 by parents Sara and Larry Parker in St. Louis, Missouri. She and her family then moved to Illinois when she two years old.
Parker is a well known basketball player of the WNBA and is also known for her time as a member of both the Los Angeles Sparks (2008 – 2020) and the Chicago Sky (2021 – present), winning the WNBA Finals championship with both organizations in 2016 with the Sparks and 2021 with the Sky, winning the finals MVP in her first appearance in 2016 and WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.
With all of this being said, the question that still lies is what makes Parker tick and have her to stand out from other athletes in and out of the WNBA?
Take a look below to see the side of Parker that you probably didn’t know that exists.
During her free time, she spends most of it being an advocating for charitable foundations such as the PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Pat Summitt Foundation in honor of her late college basketball coach Pat Summitt.
PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals)
(PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, and PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally.
PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business.(About Peta, 2022)
Parker decided to become an advocate for the PETA Foundation in March 2010, which was around the time she have grown sick and tired of animal abuse from humans in order to satisfy humans.
She was inspired to get involved when she seen and was proudly educated on what was done to animals with growing fuel in imagination of that being one of her dogs.
Her dogs was the reason and inspiration of her becoming an advocate to fight against animal abuse as animals such as foxes, minks, cats, and even dogs are constantly stomped, slammed, electrocuted, and even killed for the use of their own fur.
When asked about it, she stated “I really feel like it’s very cruel what they do to animals, and I love my dog and couldn’t imagine anybody harming her.”
Check out this video on YouTube to hear more about her inspiration within the program. Click this link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xguz-Ks5wng
Pat Summitt Foundation
Founded in 2011 after former University of Tennessee’s Women’s Basketball Head Coach Pat Summit was diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimer.
For anyone who knows Parker from a either from a personal standpoint or professional standpoint, knows how important the late Pat Summit was to her. As a matter fact, not only did Parker acknowledged her as her mentor but she was also a “second mother” to her as well.
When asked about Summit, Parker stated “Coach Summitt was extremely special to me. During my time at Tennessee, we won national championships together. She was named Coach of the Year, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and was named one of the best 50 coaches ever, male or female.”
She went on to say ““I feel like she always knew exactly who I was, but sometimes it took her a little bit longer to really have that light in her eyes and that passion when she spoke to me.”
When Summitt passed away in June 2016 at the age of 64, Parker have wore orange shoes on the court in honor of her mentor that same day.
In determination to make a difference, she teamed up with the Alzheimer’s Association as a Celebrity Champion, sharing the story of Summitt’s as a way to raise awareness of the disease. She also promoted the Foundation’s lifestyle tips during the WNBA Fit Month to encourage healthy habits such as, diets and exercises that can reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia. To this day, she is still active with the Pat Summitt Foundation, along with Summit’s son Tyler to fight the disease.
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