WNBA Star Seimone Augustus Hits The Court For Marriage Equality In Minnesota

WNBA star and Olympic champion Seimone Augustus has been out since high school, but now she’s stepping onto the front lines of Minnesota’s marriage-equality battle.

With Minnesota voting on a gay-marriage ban in November, the Lynx guard says it’s the “perfect time” for her to be an advocate for the cause and for gay visibility in general. “I can make a change with my voice and my situation,” Augustus told The Associated Press. “Maybe inspire someone else to come out and be comfortable with themselves. Or maybe someone else’s parents will see my parents saying that it’s OK to be with your child and love your child unconditionally regardless of your sexual preference.”

Professionally, Augustus is on a winning streak: She took the U.S.’s women’s basketball team to nab the gold at the London Olympics this summer and the Lynx are in the running for a repeat WNBA championship. She credits longtime girlfriend LaTaya Varner, whom she’s marrying in May, for enabling her to play the best basketball of her career:

“No way. It’s totally coincidence,” Augustus said, playfully nudging Varner. “When you find happiness outside of basketball, when your personal life is intact, of course your career is going to fall into place and it has been like that for me.

“Everything at home has been wonderful and now everything on the basketball side is there. And the great thing about it is she’s been there with me. She was here when the Lynx were 0-10 (in 2007) and she was here when we went on that championship run.”