MILWAUKEE — For the first time since his daughter, Arike Ogunbowale started her professional WNBA career five years ago, Gregory Ogunbowale is able to consistently watch her play from the comfort of his home.
"It's a thing of beauty to be able to watch her on the TV without traveling to Dallas," said Gregory.
After leading Milwaukee's Divine Savior Holy Angels High School to a state championship in 2015, Arike went on to play college basketball at Notre Dame and became the 5th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft for the Dallas Wings.
"We knew that this was another beginning of another chapter," said Arike's mom, Yolanda Ogunbowale.
But that new chapter had some challenges for Arike. Her parents say they saw a big difference in how women in the league were treated compared to players in the NBA. Differences that include pay disparities and a lack of gameday exposure.
"They are as good as men, but they need to get paid as well as men," said Gregory. "There are some little games, like card games are on national TV but these women can't get on national TV?"
But after hearing that WNBA games will now be aired on national television on Friday nights, Arike and her family believe this is the first big step towards equality for the league.
"This is the first time really that you can actually sit and say oh she's playing tonight at seven," said Gregory. "When our daughters are saying oh I can be like Arike, I can be like Brittany, I could be like that, it's a good thing for the younger generation."
"Just to see them getting the exposure that they have needed for a long time, it's just a beautiful thing," said Yolanda. "There are some wonderful women that are playing in the WNBA that are very exciting players to watch."
You can catch Arike and her Dallas Wings, along with matchups between other top WNBA teams during the 'Friday Night Spotlight' every Friday night on ION television.
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