Latasha Nashay Byears (born August 12, 1973) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. She played in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) for the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional 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 Aren ...

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles 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 of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

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 of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

, and

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. 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 Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

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

College career

Born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, 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 St ...

and went to

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in nearby

Arlington, Tennessee Arlington is a town in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the seven municipalities in Shelby County. The town was officially incorporated as Haysville in 1878 and again as Arlington in 1900. The population was 2,569 at the 2000 census, 1 ...

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

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and the 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 capit ...

. She later transferred to

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 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 on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 WNBA draft is an annual draft (sports), draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and List of WNBA players, professional women's basketball p ...

, 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 Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. 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 on the court in a game against the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

. 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 involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

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 Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

's rape allegations and how the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, 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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

contract with the

. 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 The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In November 2006 Byears joined the Bulgarian team of

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () 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 Sports Club of the Army'' ...

. They won the Bulgarian Championships and

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () 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 tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...

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

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

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

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

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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 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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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 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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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 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 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 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

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Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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Playoffs

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, 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

College

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;" , DePaul , 28, , -, , -, , 59.3, , 40.7, , 74.6, , 10.4, , 1.5, , 2.4, , 0.7, , -, , 26.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;" , DePaul , 30, , -, , -, , 53.0, , 11.1, , 66.5, , 11.7, , 1.8, , 3.0, , 0.7, , -, , 22.8 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 , Career , 58, , -, , -, , 56.2, , 28.9, , 69.9, , 11.1, , 1.7, , 2.7, , 0.7, , -, , 24.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from

Sports-Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

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 LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from Tennessee American lesbian sportswomen Los Angeles Sparks players Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Lady Norse basketball players People from Millington, Tennessee Sportspeople from Shelby County, Tennessee Power forwards Sacramento Monarchs players Washington Mystics players