Latasha Nashay Byears (born August 12, 1973) is a former American professional women's basketball player. She played in the WNBA for the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

, the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

, the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...

, and for the Houston Comets. Byears ranked eighth all-time in the WNBA in field goal percentage (.514) and was among the top 10 rebounders in the league's history as of 2003. Nicknamed "Tot", Byears usually played the position of

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

. However, the openly lesbian Byers became associated with legal controversy outside of her basketball career.

College years

Born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, Byears grew up in

Millington, Tennessee Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and is a part of the Memphis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee Stat ...

and went to

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in nearby

Arlington, Tennessee Arlington is a town in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,569 at the 2000 census, 11,517 at the 2010 census, and 14,549 at the 2020 Census. From 2010 until 2020 the town's population grew by 26.326%. It is one of the se ...

. Afterwards, Byears played two years in Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, located in

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...

. She later transferred to

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where she averaged 22.8 points and 11.7

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game during the 1995–1996 season, a performance that earned her a first team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. On 23 January 2011 Byears inducted to DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame.

WNBA career

Despite not being selected at the first WNBA Draft, the

invited Byears to their training camp prior to their inaugural season in 1997. Byears then starred for the Monarchs for the next four seasons. After the 2000 season ended, Byears was traded to the

, where she was a crucial part of a championship win for the team. She was arrested on March 1, 2001 for driving under the influence of marijuana. Because of this, she had to miss the first match of the 2001 regular season due to a suspension. On July 11, 2002, she fought

Michelle M. Marciniak Michelle M. Marciniak (born October 29, 1973) is a former All-American collegiate and professional basketball player who played point guard in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). As a floor general, Marciniak competed for two nati ...

on the court in a game against the Seattle Storm. On July 12, 2002, the WNBA fined her $1,000 and banned her for 2 matches. However, following a June 5, 2003 Sparks game, Byears and three men unconnected to the Sparks were investigated for an alleged

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

of a WNBA player. Byears was cut by the Sparks a few days after the alleged incident. Four months later, in light of Kobe Bryant's rape allegations and how the Los Angeles Lakers, who owned the Sparks at the time, supported Bryant during the controversy. Byears sued the Lakers, accusing the team of double standard. Byears felt that it was unfair that she was never charged and was cut; Bryant's case was settled, yet he still continued to play and represent the team in media. The criminal proceedings were closed in August 2005 due to insufficient evidence, and Byears' lawsuit against the Lakers was settled months later. Shortly after settling the lawsuit, Byears returned to the WNBA after a two-year absence, signing with the Mystics. In 2007, Byears signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

contract with the Houston Comets. She was briefly waived in 2008, before being re-signed. The Comets organization folded at the end of the 2008 season. Byears, as an unrestricted free agent, was not eligible for selection by another team in the resulting dispersal draft, and was not signed by another team prior to or during the 2009 season.

Overseas career

In October 2001 Byears joined the EuroLeague final four participant and Hungarian National League champion MiZo-Pécsi VSK. She played only two matches, on 15 November 2001 travel back the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In November 2006 Byears joined the Bulgarian team of

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

. They won the Bulgarian Championships and

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournamen ...

. Byears played for Leszno in Poland during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

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, 28 , , 19 , , 23.4 , , .459 , , .200 , , .739 , , 6.9 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 2.4 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:left;",

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, 30 , , 26 , , 27.6 , , .453 , , .222 , , .663 , , 6.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 2.4 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:left;",

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, 32 , , 32 , , 22.0 , , .537 , , .000 , , .565 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 1.9 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:left;",

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, 32 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .524 , , .500 , , .612 , , 3.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 1.1 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2001^† , style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, 32 , , 13 , , 23.1 , , style="background:#D3D3D3" , .602° , , .333 , , .577 , , 5.7 , , 0.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 1.2 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2002^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 5 , , 18.7 , , .618 , , .000 , , .566 , , 5.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 0.8 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 0 , , 14.4 , , .400 , , .000 , , .727 , , 4.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006 , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 26 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .449 , , .000 , , .800 , , 3.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007 , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 30 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .591 , , .000 , , .583 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .471 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 10 years, 4 teams , 252 , , 95 , , 18.7 , , .515 , , .233 , , .635 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.5 , , 7.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

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, 1 , , 1 , , 24.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 10.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2001^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , .643 , , 4.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2002^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 2 , , 21.3 , , .633 , , .000 , , .364 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 1.7 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 4 years, 2 teams , 16 , , 3 , , 16.6 , , .521 , , .000 , , .519 , , 4.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 5.5

Notes

External links

WNBA Player ProfileESPN article on her hopes for returning to the WNBAESPN article on her return to the WNBA
*http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/battle-sex-byears-lawsuit-outs-wnba-conflict-gay-issue-article-1.650609 {{DEFAULTSORT:Byears, Latasha 1973 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Bulgaria American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball players Houston Comets players Jiangsu Phoenix players Lesbian sportswomen LGBT basketball players LGBT people from Tennessee American LGBT sportspeople Los Angeles Sparks players Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Lady Norse basketball players People from Millington, Tennessee Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Monarchs players Washington Mystics players