The W: A History of the WNBA — Tamryn Spruill in conversation with Gavin Godfrey

This event takes place on Crowdcast, Charis’ virtual event platform. This event is free, but registration is required. Register here – https://www.crowdcast.io/c/the-w
Charis welcomes Tamryn Spruill in conversation with Gavin Godfrey for a celebration of The W: A History of the WNBA: How the WNBA Survived, Evolved, and Changed Professional Sports, a raucous roller-coaster history of the WNBA.
The history of the WNBA is an epic one, and in The W, journalist Tamryn Spruill tells the full thrilling story. This is a three-decade tale of tenacious athletes, devoted fans, and a vibrant, diverse league that struggled for years to find a firm footing in the wider sports culture.
When the WNBA launched to much fanfare in 1996, the nascent league was treated like a kid sister with a lot of potential. Eight teams collectively owned by the NBA played a short schedule during the men’s offseason. Fans flocked to arenas to see stars Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Rebecca Lobo, and the Houston Comets won their first of four consecutive championships.
But television broadcasts were hard to find, the conversation around the league was often blatantly sexist, and less than a decade after their “four peat,” the dynastic Comets had been disbanded and ceased to exist.
Social media helped players upend that dynamic, be their authentic selves, and engender change inside the league and beyond it. College stars became pros, legends broke records, and the women of the WNBA became undeniable. Thirty years after its founding, the time has more than come for this comprehensive account of the league, and the women whose drive, on-court and off, built the W.
About the Author
Tamryn Spruill is an award-winning independent journalist and author of The W: A History of the WNBA (Abrams Press, September 2026).
Formerly the editor in chief of Swish Appeal, she has written for The Athletic, Harper’s BAZAAR, The New York Times, The Red Bulletin, SLAM, and elsewhere. A lifelong lover of basketball, Spruill has followed the WNBA since its inception and began reporting on it in 2014, with the aim of giving the then-neglected league meaningful coverage.
She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Goddard College and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Journalism from the University of South Carolina. As an adjunct professor, Spruill is passionate about teaching media history/studies, world literature, and creative writing.
She thrives in nature, feels most grounded when making music and art, and lives in Massachusetts with her wife, stepson, and two cats.
About the Conversation Partner
Gavin Godfrey is a senior reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and its Black culture franchise UATL. He’s an award-winning writer and editor from Atlanta who’s covered everything from OutKast to the World Cup. Before joining the AJC, Gavin was the editor for Capital B Atlanta. He also held editorial leadership roles with Creative Loafing, Canopy Atlanta, and CNN. His freelance work has appeared in NPR, Complex, The Fader, Rolling Stone and Vice.
About our Partner
Jolene Jolene is Atlanta’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports. Learn more at jolenejoleneatl.com.
The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate on Crowdcast or via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate.
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