​​    For the W, August’s color of choice is pink. The color represents hope, bravery, and solidarity. Its hue brings togetherness and spreads awareness. August is WNBA Breast Health Awareness (BHA), where the league and WNBA/WNBPA Social Justice Council join together to spotlight both breast and ovarian cancers — how to be proactive, how to manage the risks, and who is most susceptible, with a focus on Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ communities.

Over the past nine months, the WNBA family has mourned three former athletes who have lost their battle with cancer: Tiffany Jackson, Simone Edwards, and Nikki McCray-Penson. It was pure joy to watch them live out their dreams on the court, so today, we pay homage to what their lives meant to this league and the women’s basketball community at large.

Tiffany Jackson

In August 2017, the Los Angeles Sparks’ annual Breast Cancer Awareness game night was personal for then-forward Tiffany Jackson. Jackson was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer two years prior after first detecting a lump while competing overseas. She took the 2016 season off for treatment, which included radiation and a mastectomy. Jackson returned to the court with the Sparks for her final WNBA season.

“I played again not necessarily for myself,” Jackson, the nine-year WNBA vet, said in a 2018 interview, “but for every woman or man who has had this disease…I just wanted to be someone they could look up to.”

Jackson was a Texas legend. After leading Duncanville High School to the State Championships in 2003, she continued her career 200 miles south at the University of Texas under Hall of Fame head coach Jody Conradt. Still, Jackson is the only women’s basketball player in UT history to finish with at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 steals, and 150 blocks.

The New York Liberty drafted Jackson at number 5 in 2007 to bring her versatility to Manhattan. At 6-foot-3, she had lightning-fast footwork and a knack for snatching rebounds. She contributed to the NY’s gritty identity for four seasons before she was traded to the Tulsa Shock. Jackson blossomed into a starting role in Oklahoma, averaging a career-high 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in 2011.

Jackson ultimately became an assistant coach for her alma mater before accepting a head coaching job at Wiley College early last year. She died in late October 2022 and is survived by her 10-year-old son, Marley. She was 37.

Simone Edwards

Former Seattle Storm fan-favorite, Simone Edwards, wore the “First Jamaican WNBA Player” title as a badge of honor. She was always proud of her Caribbean roots, hence the “Jamaican Hurricane” moniker.

The 2004 WNBA Champion was a fireball. Edwards had defensive tenacity (former Storm head coach Lin Dunn said she put the 6’4 center at the top of the press because of it!) mixed with her infectious positivity (Nancy Darsch, former Liberty head coach, remarked that Edwards emulated sunshine — she beat out 300 other players at training camp tryouts!). This made for the best teammate but a nightmare matchup for opponents.

To think, Edwards’ six-year WNBA career almost wasn’t. The track was her first love, but an American basketball coach noticed her speedy athleticism and helped hone her skills for the hardwood. Edwards then competed at the University of Iowa from 1994 to 1997, winning a Big Ten Tournament title her senior year.

Edwards died in February 2023 after being diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer two years earlier. She was 49.

“They say certain people light up a room, well Simone is one of those people,” Sue Bird said in 2021 about her former teammate, Edwards. “Simone has this way of making people around her feel good. That’s her gift.”

Nikki McCray-Penson

“We want to be the best basketball team in history.” That’s what Nikki McCray-Penson stated after an early-round win over South Korea in the 1996 Olympics. Pat Summitt coached the former Tennessee Lady Vol; all she knew was winning.

Well, that iconic national team went undefeated 60-0 (52-0 in pre-Olympic competition and 8-0 in the Games) to win gold, and its star-studded roster laid the groundwork for professional women’s basketball here in the States. History made.

Fittingly, in 1998 McCray-Penson began her WNBA career in the nation’s capital playing for the Washington Mystics, where she spent four seasons averaging 15.4 points a game and was a three-time All-Star. The stellar point guard dished out dimes for Indiana, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Chicago throughout her successful nine years in the league. McCray-Penson won another Olympic gold medal in Athens, Greece, in 2004 before retiring from the WNBA in 2006.

But like a true floor general, McCray-Penson was called into coaching with stints at Western Kentucky, Old Dominion, Mississippi State, and Rutgers. Notably, she was an assistant under her former Olympic teammate, Dawn Staley, at the University of South Carolina for nine years. There she was able to mold, inspire, and teach the future generation of WNBA stars like A’ja Wilson, Allisha Gray, and Tiffany Mitchell.

McCray-Penson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. She died in early July and is survived by her husband, Thomas, and her 10-year-old son, Thomas Jr. She was 51. McCray-Penson dazzled women’s hoops fans for decades with awe-inspiring hustle on both ends of the court — all with a smile; off the court, she fought her toughest battle to the very end.

For more information on the prevention and early detection of breast cancer in people everywhere, visit resources from American Cancer Society and TOUCH, Black Breast Cancer Alliance.

WNBA reporter Jordan Robinson writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @HeyJordanR. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.