Photo via: @tbasketballleague/Instagram
As co-founder and CEO of the newly formed minor professional basketball organization, The Basketball League (TBL), Evelyn Magley has recently made history as the first Black woman to own a men’s professional sports league in the United States, reports Black Enterprise.
She started the team with her husband, retired NBA player David Magley, who serves as president of the organization. Together, they are scheduled to debut the new league in January 2019 with 12 to 16 teams targeted in 40 markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. Some of these teams will include the Kansas City Tornados, the Ohio Bootleggers and the Nevada Desert Dogs.
“I am thrilled to start a league that treats our players with the greatest level of respect thereby impacting our community in a manner that is consistent with our faith, by serving those who need it most,” says Magley.
Through TBL, athletes who don’t make it to the NBA or G-League will be afforded another opportunity to play basketball professionally and paid anywhere from $1,500 to $7,500 per month. In addition to its sports branch, TBL will also provide support to the community through philanthropic initiatives, youth camps, clinics and nonprofit organizations. The league will also give individuals an opportunity to own a professional sports business for a relatively low amount.
David Magley, who was drafted into the NBA in 1982, says that his wife will bring a “unique vision” to the sports world as not only a wife of a former professional athlete, but also as a mother to four children who played sports in college.
“Her passion for people allows us to build on a vision of impacting community through giving young men opportunities that do not exist today, then leveraging our platforms to engage each local market to benefit the youth and nonprofit initiatives she is so very passionate about,” he says.
Magley is a graduate of the University of Kansas and also the co-founder of Children with Purpose, which is an inner-city ministry focused on mentoring young kids through music, academic services and food.