Ex-WNBA veteran Ashley Battle recently spoke with EBONY about money and the NBA’s Basketball Operations Associate Program, which is designed to help former players transition into diverse careers after they retire from the court.
“In recent years, the NBA has started a Crossover Program – established for former WNBA and NBA players to come and really learn the business side of basketball,” Battle said about the initiative. “[It] mixes our talents that we’ve had one the court, knowledge we had there and all of the different cogs that go into making the league run.”
After playing in the WNBA for six years starting in 2005, Battle used the knowledge she gained as a double major in marketing and economics from the University of Connecticut to work in wealth management and retail banking.
She decided to leave the world of finance and join the Basket Operations Associate Program with the hope of learning the skills required to get a job at the front office of an NBA team.
With experience in both retail banking and financial management, which are “completely different, Battle spoke about the factors that sometimes lead athletes to mismanage money including business ventures that don’t pan out.
“Athletes, in general, have to be more cognizant of their funds and really involved in what’s happening,” the former Branch Manager at Fifth Third Bank urged. “You can’t just blindly trust someone to do anything there have to be checks and balances.”
“As a player, you have to be aware of the pitfalls a lot of athletes have had prior to you,” she added. “Hopefully, you have people surrounding you that are educated enough that could educate you enough to help you through these situations.”
Battle currently works in player programming and development with the NBA, in which they offer a financial seminar to ball players. One of the biggest things she said can help athletes is learning to say no to various projects.
Watch the full interview above.
“In recent years, the NBA has started a Crossover Program – established for former WNBA and NBA players to come and really learn the business side of basketball,” Battle said about the initiative. “[It] mixes our talents that we’ve had one the court, knowledge we had there and all of the different cogs that go into making the league run.”
After playing in the WNBA for six years starting in 2005, Battle used the knowledge she gained as a double major in marketing and economics from the University of Connecticut to work in wealth management and retail banking.
She decided to leave the world of finance and join the Basket Operations Associate Program with the hope of learning the skills required to get a job at the front office of an NBA team.
With experience in both retail banking and financial management, which are “completely different, Battle spoke about the factors that sometimes lead athletes to mismanage money including business ventures that don’t pan out.
“Athletes, in general, have to be more cognizant of their funds and really involved in what’s happening,” the former Branch Manager at Fifth Third Bank urged. “You can’t just blindly trust someone to do anything there have to be checks and balances.”
“As a player, you have to be aware of the pitfalls a lot of athletes have had prior to you,” she added. “Hopefully, you have people surrounding you that are educated enough that could educate you enough to help you through these situations.”
Battle currently works in player programming and development with the NBA, in which they offer a financial seminar to ball players. One of the biggest things she said can help athletes is learning to say no to various projects.
Watch the full interview above.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00If you could explain what the NBA's Basketball Operations Associate Program is and your role
00:10in the initiative?
00:11Absolutely.
00:12So, the last couple of years, the NBA has created a career crossover program established
00:18for former WNBA NBA players to come and really learn the business side of basketball and
00:24really mixing our talents that we've had on the court and our knowledge that we have
00:30there and combining that with all of the different cogs that goes into making the league run.
00:36Why did you think it was important to join the program?
00:41For me, it was one of these things where I was in financial planning and wealth management.
00:46I was doing that for entertainers and athletes.
00:50I was learning and talking with different athletes, different coaches, and it was just
00:57something in the middle of my gut that just didn't seem right.
01:01You know, it didn't feel right.
01:03I was just ready to move on and join the league.
01:08Okay.
01:09Since you've worked in wealth management, do you think you can share a little bit about
01:12why you think we see so many stories about athletes who mismanage their money and the
01:18factors that lead to that?
01:20I think there's probably a couple things that happens along the way.
01:26I think athletes in general have to be more cognizant of their funds and really involved
01:31in what's happening.
01:33I think that you can't just blindly trust someone to do anything.
01:38There has to be checks and balances.
01:43I think that sometimes there's probably some business ventures that didn't go right, but
01:49I think you see a lot of different stories out there.
01:53What we tried to do was just really hands-off on the money per se, but just really educating
02:00them and having them learn, you know, this is what you can do.
02:07This is the good that can happen out of it.
02:10This is the bad that can happen out of it.
02:12Here's our opinion.
02:13But ultimately, it's your money, so it's up to you to make the final call as to if you
02:18want to do this venture or not.
02:20So did someone teach you about finances and money, or was it just something that you had
02:23a knack for and discovered on your own?
02:26When I graduated from UConn, I double-majored in marketing and economics, so I kind of knew
02:31a little bit about a little bit.
02:33So once I left, once I stopped playing, I ended up working at a bank, and within a couple
02:40of years of being there, I was running my own branch.
02:44So retail, banking, and financial planning is just two completely different things.
02:51So it's great to have someone who's seasoned, who's a vet in that area, to kind of show
02:56you the way, kind of teach you what not to do, the things to do.
03:02As you well know, there's just a lot of regulation that is behind wealth management and financial
03:08planning, so the government has eyes on everything.
03:11So it's, you know, you have to get licensed, you have to, you know, there's due diligence
03:17that you have to do in order to make sure that you're compliant.
03:20If you get audited, you have to have all these things that are readily available.
03:25Do you think your career as a WNBA player helped you in terms of that due diligence?
03:31It's just completely different.
03:32I mean, I think I'm fortunate to have a great family that helped me along the way with different,
03:39you know, projects and money management.
03:43I had a really good advisor, and I still have a really good advisor that helps me, you know,
03:48personally manage my own funds.
03:50But you know, I think as a player, you have to be well aware of the pitfalls that a lot
03:55of athletes have had prior to you.
03:58And hopefully, you know, you have people surrounding you that's educated enough that can help you,
04:04that can educate you enough to help you through these situations.
04:07And that's part of what, you know, one of the divisions that I work for at the league
04:12is player programming and player development, where we have different seminars to help,
04:17you know, athletes, and one of them is a financial education seminar.
04:21So speaking on that, what are some challenges as a former WNBA player yourself that you
04:26feel athletes face on and off the court during and after their careers?
04:32I would say during your career, you have a lot of the challenges that you face is just,
04:37you know, you're a celebrity.
04:39So people are, you know, coming at you in different directions.
04:42You know, they want you to be involved in different projects.
04:46They, you know, you just have a lot of people coming at you, and it's up to you to really,
04:51it's okay to say no.
04:52I think a lot of times people don't understand the value of saying no.
04:57You don't want to be painted as a bad person, but you're not, you know, it's okay to say
05:01no.
05:02Or if you have, you know, a good team around you, you know, maybe that's the job of somebody
05:09who's on your team, you know, to vet some of the projects that are coming in, and then
05:14once they relay that information to you, they could be the person to say no, that says no.
05:19Looking at the NBA's Basketball Operations Associate Program, what is your greatest hope
05:27or what do you want to accomplish?
05:30You know, thus far it's been really fantastic, just really, you know, seeing how the NBA
05:36works, the different departments, you know, being able to be an ambassador in Mexico on
05:42an NBA Academy level, and teaching, you know, the younger generation the love that I have
05:48for the game has just been fantastic.
05:50My hopes and dreams, my big dream, I know this is, you know, the Nike campaign that
05:54just recently came out, so my big dream is to maybe potentially be in the front office
05:59of a team, you know, there's many ways to do that, I have no idea what's in store for
06:06me in the future, but hopefully, you know, we'll just see more women doing great things
06:12and more athletes coming back to contribute to help the league grow.