When Celeste Taylor steps onto the court for March Madness the following week, she will be representing more than just Ohio State.
One of the few Latina players in women’s collegiate basketball is the guard for the Buckeyes. Although winning a national championship is the ultimate objective, Taylor is realizing the bigger influence she can have on those who aspire to be like her.
Taylor stated on NBC Sports’ “Big Ten Country” podcast, “I think that can be very helpful being one of those few people that are in it trying to go out into the community and showcase that I am a Latina, I have been playing basketball and I have had some success and just showing that it can be done.”
When Celeste Taylor steps onto the court for March Madness the following week, she will be representing more than just Ohio State.
One of the few Latina players in women’s collegiate basketball is the guard for the Buckeyes. Although winning a national championship is the ultimate objective, Taylor is realizing the bigger influence she can have on those who aspire to be like her.
Taylor stated on NBC Sports’ “Big Ten Country” podcast, “I think that can be very helpful being one of those few people that are in it trying to go out into the community and showcase that I am a Latina, I have been playing basketball and I have had some success and just showing that it can be done.”
In addition to being a member of the championship-winning American teams in the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup and the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup, she began for Team USA at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women’s Americas Championship. She claims that the games, which pitted her team against Latin nations like Argentina and Colombia, helped her understand how basketball is perceived in various regions of the world.
“I believe that basketball is not a very popular sport in general,” she remarked. Therefore, it can be challenging to attract new players, but in my opinion, basketball does not actively want to exclude Latinas. I simply don’t believe that when they’re younger, it’s all around them, or that they see it all the time.
