WNBA Chicago Sky teammates get married
Their WNBA team Chicago Sky congratulated the players on their marriage. (chicago Sky/Twitter)
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Courtney Vandersloot and Alexandria Quigley have celebrated their wedding in Seattle, Washington, on December 27.
The two basketball players, who both play as point guards for Chicago Sky, have posted pictures of their private ceremony on social media, where friends, family and fans congratulated and wished them happiness.
Vandersloot posted a picture of the two of them in their wedding gowns, holding hands.
“Walking into 2019 like…” the 29-year-old athlete captioned the Instagram post.
Her newly-wedded wife instead shared a snap from the reception, the two women loving looking into each other’s eyes.
“Happiest day of my life! Married my best friend and had all of our favorite people in one room!” Quigley, 32, wrote in her post.
WNBA Chicago Sky players got married in Seattle on December 27. (Alexandria Quigley/Instagram)
Among those in attendance at the Chicago Sky players’ wedding, branded by the hashtag #vanderquigs on social media, included fellow teammates Diamond DeShields and Gabby Williams and Las Vegas Aces player Carolyn Swords.
Swords published a picture of herself with the happy couple on Instagram, simply writing “love is all you need” in the caption.
Another guest was Lisa Fortier, currently the head coach of the women’s basketball team at Vandersloot’s alma mater Gonzaga University.
“Such a beautiful wedding celebrating two amazing women. Loved hearing the stories about them both and catching up with the old Zags,” she wrote, posting pictures from the ceremony on Twitter.
WNBA players are the league’s second married power couple
Vandersloot and Quigley are both American-Hungarians who have played for Turkish teams in the past.
The Chicago Sky teammates are considered to be a power couple in the WNBA league, which features another married couple who, however, are currently playing on opposite teams.
The WNBA players’ wedding guests used the hashtag #vanderquigs on social media. (Courtney Vandersloot/Instagram)
As women’s basketball publication Swish Appeal noted, players DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree also got married while playing for the same team, Phoenix Mercury, in 2016.
But their union on court ended with Dupree’s transfer to the Indiana Fever, which faced off against Bonner’s Phoenix Mercury in June—marking the first time the two played against one another since 2009.
The WNBA is considered one of the US’ most progressive and diverse sports leagues, featuring several high-level ‘out’ athletes.
Former Chicago Sky player Elena Delle Donne, who is currently playing for the Washington Mystics, came out in 2016 in a profile published in Vogue magazine.
Delle Donne, who was a captain in this year’s WNBA All-Star Game, has since become more vocal in calling out gender inequality in sports and advocating for LGBT+ rights.
