Former Lady Vol basketball and WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw will visit the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Wednesday, September 12, to talk about her bout with clinical depression and how she became a suicide survivor.
She will speak at 2:00 p.m. in the Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Her visit is part of the campus’ VolAware initiative, which aims to prevent violence, suicide, and substance abuse while encouraging wellness and personal safety.
Holdsclaw won three consecutive national championships with Lady Vols in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and was a member of Tennessee’s first-ever undefeated women’s team, winning thirty-nine straight games in 1998. She was a four-time Kodak All-American, and is the leading scorer in SEC women’s history.
In 1999 she was the number one pick in the WNBA draft and signed with the Washington Mystics. She was named Rookie of the Year for 1999 and won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney. She played professionally for eleven years.
Holdsclaw published her first book in 2001, Chamique: On Family, Focus, and Basketball. Her second book, Breaking Through: Beating The Odds Shot After Shot, came out this year and discusses her personal struggle with clinical depression, including a nervous breakdown as a star with the Mystics in 2004 and a never-before disclosed suicide attempt in 2006 while she played for the Los Angeles Sparks.
Holdsclaw’s talk is co-sponsored by the UT Counseling Center and the VolAware Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness committee. For more information on VolAware, visit the website.