Charlotte fans of women’s basketball might remember the Charlotte Sting, which was one of the original eight teams associated with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Established in 1997 as a sister team to the Charlotte Hornets, the Charlotte Sting competed until 2007 when the team was dissolved. There are, however, recent news accounts that the team might be revived: https://www.wbtw.com/sports/we-need-this-charlotte-sting-could-return-to-wnba/
I saw the Charlotte Sting play on several occasions, and I remember being impressed with how the players supported each other and worked together as a cohesive team. They all did their part to make the WNBA a viable professional sports organization. I am not an obsessive sports fan, but I enjoyed rooting for the Charlotte Sting in part because they seemed to be having so much fun on the court.
I flashed back on the experience of going to Charlotte Sting games when I learned that the University of North Carolina Press will soon release the revised and expanded edition of Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball by Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford, both of whom are Charlotte writers. The official publication date is February 18, 2025. As they did in their original 2005 edition of the book, Pamela and Susan capture that special spirit—almost magic—that shapes the history of women’s basketball.
I contacted Pamela and Susan and asked them for more information about the revised edition of Shattering the Glass. Here is what they sent to me:
The expanded edition of Shattering the Glass is almost here!
The first edition, published by the New Press in 2005, was the most comprehensive account of American women’s basketball ever written. It became an integral part of sports history classes across the country. Readers raved.
Bust Magazine termed it “an indispensable resource.” Renowned sportswriter Robert Lipsyte described it as a “nonstop romp through hoops history” that offered “not only lively storytelling but a fascinating window on race, gender, and class on and off the court.” Historian Jacquelyn Hall called it a “sweeping, century-long story that places women’s sports at the heart of the fight for women’s rights.”
Twenty years later, the sport we’ve always loved has taken on new significance. Throughout its history, basketball has made it possible for players and coaches to challenge the limitations imposed on women by American culture and society. Our new chapters explore the factors that have contributed to the game’s recent growth, and the ways that players have used their new visibility to engage issues that include race, sexuality and opportunity. It’s such an important story—and it resonates more than ever today.
‘We’ve been so excited to watch the profile of women’s sports rise,” star player and four-time WNBA champion Seimone Augustus observed. “Doors are opening. People are able to see us; they’re able to hear us. We’re about to move light years ahead. We need to bring our history with us.”
We’ve been so excited to watch the profile of women’s sports rise. It’s been a privilege to be able to update our manuscript, and to explore the ways the history we’ve chronicled relates to an ever-changing present. Everlasting thanks to Mark Simpson-Vos and other supporters at UNC Press, who saw the potential in an updated/expanded edition and who have been great to work with.
For more information about the new edition, please click on the following links: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469674780/shattering-the-glass/ and shatteringtheglassbook.com.
Pamela and Susan will be at Park Road Books on February 19, signing copies of Shattering the Glass from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Also, they will be on Charlotte Talks on February 17.
I congratulate Pamela and Susan on their latest collaborative endeavor. Pamela and Susan live across the street from each other in Plaza Midwood, and they enjoy working together. They’ve also pursued plenty of their own projects in the past two decades, including Susan’s history of women’s basketball at Army West Point, and Pamela’s account of segregation, desegregation and resegregation at historically Black West Charlotte High School. All of us in Storied Charlotte are fortunate that Pamela and Susan enjoy writing together.
