Monica Brown - She Persisted: Diana Taurasi

She Persisted: MARIAN ANDERSON

She Persisted: VIRGINIA APGAR

She Persisted: NELLIE BLY

She Persisted: RUBY BRIDGES

She Persisted: CLAUDETTE COLVIN

She Persisted: ROSALIND FRANKLIN

She Persisted: TEMPLE GRANDIN

She Persisted: FLORENCE GRIFFITH JOYNER

She Persisted: HELEN KELLER

She Persisted: CORETTA SCOTT KING

She Persisted: CLARA LEMLICH

She Persisted: MAYA LIN

She Persisted: WANGARI MAATHAI

She Persisted: WILMA MANKILLER

She Persisted: PATSY MINK

She Persisted: SALLY RIDE

She Persisted: MARGARET CHASE SMITH

She Persisted: SONIA SOTOMAYOR

She Persisted: MARIA TALLCHIEF

She Persisted: DIANA TAURASI

She Persisted: HARRIET TUBMAN

She Persisted: OPRAH WINFREY

She Persisted: MALALA YOUSAFZAI

When Diana Lorena Taurasi was born on June 11, 1982, her parents didnt realize that she would one day be called a goat! The nickname goat had nothing to do with the animal, though. Diana would grow up to become a basketball GOATthe GREATEST OF ALL TIME. Baby Diana grew to be tall like a tree, leaping and running and dribbling and shooting basketballs over other players heads and into the basket. All over the world, people would say that Diana Taurasi was one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

As a child, however, the sport Diana and her big sister, Jessika, learned about first was soccer. Diana grew up in Chino, California, but her parents, Mario and Liliana, were immigrants to the United States from Argentina, where soccer, called ftbol in Spanish, was everybodys favorite sport! Dianas family spoke only Spanish at home, and they ate delicious Argentinian food like BBQ with chimichurri sauce, yerba mate, and empanadas. Dianas father was born in Italy, but his parents had immigrated to Argentina when he was only five years old, so Diana was also influenced by her fathers Italian heritage. Mario would leave at 4 a.m. to drive to his job operating machines in a big factory and not return home until 8 p.m., where his family was waiting for him to eat after his twelve-hour shifts. Meals were a special time for the Taurasi family, who loved to talk and eat and laugh together.

Dianas father was once a professional soccer player in Argentina, and there was always a soccer game on in the Taurasi home. Diana loved soccer and wanted to play all the time. But she loved basketball too, where she soared, leaping high and running fast on the court. Diana played basketball whenever and wherever she couldin driveways and parks, against boys and girls. She loved watching mens basketball on TV too, especially games featuring Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant! Dianas mother was a waitress and her father worked long hours, so it was difficult for her parents to take her to both soccer and basketball practices. But they did it because she loved both sports so much, and they loved her.

Diana was an amazing basketball playerfast and smart on the court. Her graceful arms and hands could launch the ball straight into the basket and she could jump high! Swoosh! She reached 511 before she even became a teenager, and would one day grow to be six feet tall. Diana was confident and proud as she stretched toward the sky and her future as a basketball star!

Life in the United States wasnt always easy for the Taurasi family. It was hard to be so far from their family in South America and challenging to earn enough money to make ends meet. When Diana was twelve, her parents missed their family so much, they decided to move back to Argentina for a short time. In Argentina, Diana saw many people living in poverty. She saw children without shoes and people living in shacks made from iron sheets. The Taurasis lived in a dangerous neighborhood, where they were once robbed at gunpoint in their own home. The robber even took the basketball shoes off Dianas feet and put them on before he left! Thankfully, no one was hurt.

After her family moved back to California, Diana finally had to choose which sport she wanted to play most. Though she loved soccer, Diana and her family knew her greatest passion and most magical talent was for basketball, so she chose that path.

Diana, whose nickname was Dee, was happiest on the court. Shed dreamed of playing basketball forever, but at that time there was no professional womens basketball association. Female basketball players could compete in college, but then their careers would end. Will things ever change? Diana wondered. She looked to the mens NBA teams for inspiration and watched every Los Angeles Lakers game she could. During halftime and time-outs, shed run outside to her driveway to practice the shots superstar Kobe Bryant made!

Diana joined Don Antonio Lugo High Schools girls basketball team, where she wowed everyone. And, of course, her family watched every basketball game they could, cheering her on! Games were fun and exciting when Diana was playing, because in addition to being fiercely competitive, she loved to have fun! Diana played with joy.