Deion’s daughter joins Atlanta Peaches bikini ball team

When Deiondra Sanders, daughter of Football Hall Of Famer, Deion Sanders, told her father she was going to be taking up a spot on one of the newest teams in Atlanta, he needed a little more information to be convinced of the situation.

Even as the BBL and NBA seasons come to an end, and the MLB is well under way with its build-up to the new season, we here at UKAmericanSportsFans.com have been keeping a very close eye on all matters BBA; the Bikini Basketball Association.

“Just like any parent that hears that their child is participating is a bikini league, he was upset at first,” noted the newest and most prolific star for BBA franchise, Atlanta Peaches, “it wasn’t until I sent him a picture of our uniform and he became much more supportive.”

With the connotations of bikini basketball, one would be forgiven for thinking it was a case of women taking to court in a flowery two-piece, but according to the Atlanta organisation, their side will be kitted out in sports bras and spandex shorts, akin to Olympic volleyball and track & field, just as other teams will be in the forthcoming summer league.

The Peaches have come to be as owner Rodney Daniel was initially hired as coach, before the original owners decided against moving forward with the team, until the BBA approached Daniel to take control.

Since then, it has been a battle to convince America, and the local Atlanta area, that this team is more than just for show.

“In Atlanta, it has been received well as we have been inviting fans out see the level of talent we are putting on the court,” say the Peaches’ press office, and that talent as well as Sanders, who is reported to be playing shooting guard, consists of experienced Division I college players in the Georgia Tech alumni of Jacqua Williams, Simone Trice, and Shaday Woolcock.

The stigma and the ideas behind the league are already sticking to an extent, but Sanders feels that is down to a lack of understanding initially: “It’s going to be hate everywhere, regardless of what I’m doing, what the organisation is doing or simply the name ‘Bikini Basketball’. Many may think it’s degrading to women because they don’t know what our uniforms consist of, but I personally think this league will allow women to be comfortable and confident in their own skin.”

“At first, it was difficult, yes, until people actually see the team practice and realise this is a legit sport,” the spokesperson for the team went on to say, but now it seems the wheels are all in motion from their recent YouTube training montage.

So what of Sanders’ involvement, and how and why did she become a part of the Peaches’ team?

“I’m all about opportunity, so I thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to meet new people, have fun and get fit at the same time. Atlanta is also where I reside now, so it’s convenient for me.”

Her father’s stacked history, being the only player to have scored a home run in the MLB and a touchdown in the NFL in the same week in 1989, is not something she is looking to add to, but to create history of her own.

“My father’s legacy is something that he created on his own – I want to build my own legacy and be known for the positive things I’m doing.

“The only past basketball experience I have has only been in high school for about a year. Other than that, when I’ve been supportive to a past boyfriend, I was able to learn the game and some techniques of it,” admits Deiondra.

Which may give way to doubters of her decision to join in with the league, but with the set-up in place, she has plenty of chance to learn on the job.

“My team mates are amazing; a lot of them have prior experience in the game, so they are really good and really supportive of me and everyone else on the team.”

The BBA hopes to give women not able to play in the WNBA or overseas a chance to play still at a high level, and in the eyes of Sanders has the ability to give plenty of second chances: “I think the BBA is a league that still gives women an opportunity to live out their dreams that they perhaps were cut short. We fully support and look up to the women in the WNBA and would be honoured if some players could catch a few of our games.

On the whole then, can this league be another positive way for people to get involved in sport, and does it have legs to go further than the USA?
“Yes,” says a positive Sanders, “considering this is the first year, it has a lot of hype already, I hope this is something that could be taking global and hopefully I can be apart of the growth within the organisation.”

WNBA’s Atlanta Dream visited Manchester back in 2011 to face the Great Britain national women’s team, so would the Atlanta Peaches organisation hope that some time in the near future their league will gain as popular a following, if not more, than the WNBA and possibly stage exhibition/pre-season games in the UK?

“Yes! We would like to schedule a game NOW with any team in the UK!”

Start up your teams, Great Britain….