Created by Pierre Crockwell along with his wife Jacqueline Yang, the Seattle SuperHawks basketball team brought back our hope for the Seattle community to have a basketball team to take over for the departed Sonics. Crockwell and Yang have paved their way and made a name for themselves, and for Black men and athletes as well within the Seattle community. Crockwell grew up on the streets of Hilltop in Tacoma, Washington during the time period of Tacoma going from one of the best to one of the scariest cities in Washington. Yang is a first generation Taiwanese-American raised in the Seattle area. They both have always had love for basketball since they were younger, with Crockwell’s favorite character being Michael Jordan and Yang’s being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Two African-American players who have not only shaped the basketball community but also was able to support the African American community too. They both have also made a difference to the African American and Taiwanese-American as well, Crockwell being not only a cancer survivor but a professional overseas basketball player with also raising two incredible college athletes. Whereas, Yang, being the first female of Asian descent to own a professional men’s basketball team in North America all at the same time being an amazing mother to her daughter. They both show their parenting side when it comes too their players, preparing them for life while also coaching them to be the best they can be. Crockwell and Yang wanted to create this team to, provide a great opportunity for talented basketball players to showcase their talent and reach the next level of going overseas, reaching the G-League, or even the NBA. Their goal is to also bring affordable, family-friendly, professional basketball and entertainment to the local community while providing our players with the opportunity to continue to develop professionally both on and off the court. Which they have been since the beginning of the season.
During this past weekend, the Seattle Superhawks brought home another dub against the Salem Capitals. However, this game, they honored the legend from the Seattle Sonics, Gary Payton, number 20 from the team. Payton expresses that he sees the same drive in the Superhawks that he sees in his son. That drive to not only fight to be the best but to also prove you’ve done the work to get yourself where you are now. Payton also expressed to our Seattle community that “What they’re doing now, they’re number one in their division right now,” Payton said. “They’re playing very well, you just got to keep it up. Once you do that and you become that team.”(VIA King5 News) Becoming that team will be the starting point for this team to become the new Sonics. Which is the end goal, as well as winning the TBL championship coming up in the summer. Payton has high hopes and expectations that the team will be able to make it all the way and push their players to strive for the top!
The team continues to win their games back to back and will be planning for the future as well. Seattle Superhawks plan to expand their team and create a cheerleading team to support their basketball team! I hope they do, I’d love to tryout and show some of my skills off too! Next game will be April 20th, a home game against the Bakersfield Majestics. See you there!
By Leilani Sheffey
Seattle Superhawks Website
https://seattlesuperhawks.com/
King5 Segment “Seattle Superhawks hosting ‘Gary Payton Night’ to honor the basketball legend”
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