Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.
In the summer of 2015, the Kings convened an orientation meeting for new arrivals to their sales team. One by one, folks went around the room listing their five-year career goals. Answers ran a predictable gamut, from selling premium suites to event planning to brokering corporate sponsorships. And then Amber Nichols spoke up. “My goal is to be a GM one day,” she declared.