Everyone Watches Dyke Sports: Queer Histories of New York Liberty Basketball

Everyone Watches Dyke Sports: Queer Histories of New York Liberty Basketball celebrates the New York Liberty‘s lesbian fans. Lesbian fans have filled the stands of Liberty games since the earliest years of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the late 1990s. Twenty-nine years later, the WNBA is more popular than ever. New York City threw a ticker tape parade after the Liberty won their first championship in 2024. Their mascot, Ellie the Elephant, is a celebrity in her own right. As always, lesbian fans have helped propel the league’s surging popularity. This exhibit tells the story of lesbian fan cultures and their role in the league’s history.

Everyone Watches Dyke Sports was curated by a group of Liberty fans at the Lesbian Herstory Archives, a community-based archive in Brooklyn. The exhibit will be on display at the Barclays Center for the Liberty’s annual PRIDE game on July 25. After the game, the exhibit will have a more extended run at the LGBT Community Center National History Archive from July 27 until September 28. Come to The Center Archive to cheer on the lesbian histories of the defending champs.

On view within the Library/Archive space on the 4th floor. This space is open with limited hours: Wednesdays 2-6 p.m., Thursdays 6-8 p.m., and Sundays 12-4 p.m. You’re welcome to stop by the fourth floor at other times and give the door a knock if we are in!