On a night celebrating women’s sports history, hoops legends shared hope for the future, too

At a panel Wednesday night at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the introductions alone lasted more than eight minutes and covered Olympic medals, Emmys, and more.

Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Valerie Still and award-winning broadcaster Brenda VanLengen discussed the history of women’s sports and their hopes for the future in a conversation moderated by Philadelphia Sisters cofounder Ashley Lunkenheimer. Alongside the discussion, a one-night-only exhibit showcased an array of historical artifacts, from field hockey, tennis, and baseball memorabilia to items from Still’s personal collection.

And as women’s sports continues to grow in popularity, Still says the history can be remembered, too.

“It doesn’t happen by chance that women’s history gets lost,” Still said. “Women’s sports, for me, is a social movement. We don’t want to be better than the men; we want to be better than perfection.”

Still, VanLengen, and HSP are all working to ensure that women’s sports history remains intact.

Still, who grew up in Camden and calls the city “East Philly,” began researching her own history first. After retiring from basketball in 1999 following the dissolution of the American Basketball League, she began looking into her family tree and discovered that abolitionist William Still, known as the “father of the Underground Railroad,” was part of her lineage. She is is his great-great-grandniece.

“It was extremely emotional,” Still said. “Here I am with all my accomplishments when really not that long ago my ancestors were enslaved, they were in somebody’s will.”

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Still was one of the first women to earn a basketball scholarship to Kentucky and remains the Wildcats’ career points leader 43 years after playing there. She urged people in the audience to research their family histories and record them.

After finding family photos of her grandmother playing basketball in the 1920s, VanLengen began asking, “Why could my grandmother play then, but my mother couldn’t in the ’50s and ’60s?”

Her research led her to produce a docuseries titled If Not for Them, which captured the stories of women who played and loved basketball at the turn of the 20th century and who have since fought for equality in women’s sports. VanLengen is still fundraising for the series but said the project is about 75% of the way there.

One of the women interviewed for the series attended the panel. At 83, Lurline Jones is a local legend not only for her decades of coaching, but also for her work as a civil rights leader. In 1979, she filed a lawsuit under Title IX after the Philadelphia refused to hold a city girls’ basketball championship.

For Jones the fight now is to keep kids invested in sports as schools continue to roll back opportunities, programs, and access to equipment.

“It’s tough right now because the school district doesn’t provide them with the opportunity,” Jones said. “Sports do so much for young people, it changes them and builds leadership and gets them in school ... there’s a lot left to do.”

Still recalled during the panel how the progress that has been made brings her to tears.

“I had a come-to-Jesus moment last night because my dream was to play with Dr. J and the 76ers,” Still said. “The Philadelphia Sisters are bringing that day to Philadelphia in 2030. I’m that little girl again. It really is one of those moments where sports are more than what we just see. It’s more than points, it’s more than rebounds, more than how fast you’ve been running. It’s about being the best that you have been, and dreams do come true.”

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VanLengen acknowledged during the panel the struggles women in sports still face, referencing the viral moment surrounding an AI-generated video depicting ESPN reporter Holly Rowe being slapped by Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.

“It does bother me that young girls are observing this to see how women are being treated, and to hear the negativity,” VanLengen said. “But I also hope that they see the resilience and the strength of these women athletes, and want to make things better in their community, and that they’re inspired to be stronger.”

The panel ended with a call to action from Lunkenheimer.

“Show up for women’s sports, urge your friends to show up, your companies and keep supporting at every level,” she said. “We’ve got to continue to create the market, and we want Philly to be the head of that market.”