Odd-numbered years have been lucky for Seimone Augustus and the Minnesota Lynx, with the team and its star having won WNBA titles in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Augustus, believed to be the only publicly out gay player in the WNBA Finals, hopes that 2017 is just as lucky when the Lynx play the Los Angeles Sparks in the deciding Game 5 Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Augustus came out as gay in 2012 and has been a staunch advocate for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. In 2015, she married her partner, LaTaya Varner.
"I knew I was gay by the time I reached middle school," Agustus wrote in an article for The Players' Tribune. "I’ve never been attracted to guys. I can appreciate their beauty, but it comes without desire.
“I’ve always had a more intimate connection with women. In high school, I kissed a girl for the first time. It felt too comfortable and too right to think I was anyone but whom I was in that moment. I’ve followed that honesty my whole life.
In an interview when she first came out, Augustus said coming out for her was not hard. “Everyone thinks that the WNBA is one big lesbo party anyway. So I think the coming out process isn't as tough for us because people already expect it,” she said.
She may be right, but then again, she is the only publicly out player in these Finals, so coming out is still not easy for women, even if it might be easier than for men.
Game 5 of the WNBA Finals will be on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN.