Via ESPN:
“Over the years, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten much closer with Russell,” wrote Anna. “And I feel like his shadow, for me, has dissipated. I don’t feel like I’m living in it as much as I was in the past. I feel like I’m very much my own person now, following my own path.”
“Sports had become an outlet for me when my father was alive. It took my mind off him being sick,” she explained. “After he was gone, with my mom being at work all the time and my brothers being away, it filled some of that void.”
“I thought I’d have a few more games, another chance to make a run at a championship,” she wrote for ESPN. “One last dance, as they say. Under normal circumstances, that might have felt devastating, but I’ve been thinking about life after sports for quite some time.”
She continued, “Many of my fellow athletes are being forced to think about it today, much sooner than expected. But this is one thing I’ve learned: Your identity isn’t based on your circumstance.”
“Today, I have the faith of knowing that I’ve dealt with a lot of struggle,” she said. “I’ve dealt with the loss of a parent. I’ve dealt with living in the shadow of a great athlete and people’s expectations. There are so many things outside of sports that I’ve been able to accomplish just because I’ve made it to today. I never gave up. And a lot of people can’t say that they’ve made it to today.”
With a big brother like Russell, navigating the sports world has to be a lot easier.
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