NEW YORK — Kelsie Whitmore is on the rise. On May 1 last year, as a member of the Staten Island FerryHawks, she made history when she became the first woman to start in an Atlantic League game. She played left field that day and went 0-for-2.
But making history on the diamond isn’t Whitmore’s proudest moment. Being a role model for women on a daily basis is what quenches her thirst.
“I never had a female that I was able to look up to growing up,” said the 24-year-old Whitmore. “I’m proud to be able to represent younger women and to hopefully inspire and motivate them.”
Whitmore shared this story with MLB.com at On the Rise: The 2023 Asian American and Pacific Islander Sports and Culture Symposium, which was held on Wednesday at the NBA’s New York office. It marked the sixth year of the symposium, an event jointly run by Asian employee resource groups at MLB, the NBA, the NFL and, for the first time, the NHL.
The symposium celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a mission to recognize the AAPI community within the sports world, while exploring the importance of sports and how they create belonging in the AAPI community.
Approximately 150 people attended the event, while many more watched on Zoom. It was hosted by author Min Jin Lee and the panelists included Whitmore, WNBA player Kianna Smith, NFL official Lo Van Pham and Donny Khan, the NHL’s senior director of hockey development and strategic collaboration.
Before the symposium started, Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai started things off by talking about his history in sports since moving from Taiwan to the United States at the age of 13. Two uncles — one living in Texas and the other living in New Jersey — helped Tsai become a Cowboys and Mets fan, respectively. Tsai loved the Roger Staubach era and was a big fan of former Mets outfielder Lee Mazzilli and his famous basket catch.
Tsai was playing football for Lawrenceville School in New Jersey starting at the age of 14….
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