WNBA Star's 13 Three-Pointers Raise $6,500 for Black Health

When Marina Mabrey stepped up to the three-point line at the WNBA All-Star Contest in Chicago, every shot she took was worth more than points on a scoreboard.

Under Armour pledged to donate $500 to the Black Women's Institute for Health for every three-pointer the Toronto Tempo guard made during the competition. By the end of the contest, Mabrey had sunk 13 shots, raising $6,500 for the Toronto-based charity.

"A lot of this league is made up of Black women," Mabrey told TSN. "I hear a lot of things that go on, and I think that they do not have the same access to healthcare that we have, and it's not fair."

Kearie Daniel, founder of the Black Women's Institute for Health, couldn't believe the news at first. "My first thought was that it was fake," she said Monday, explaining that Black-led organizations in Canada receive less than one percent of available funding.

Why This Inspires

The donation does more than fund programs. It shines a spotlight on a healthcare crisis hiding in plain sight.

The institute's recent Voices Unheard report surveyed nearly 2,000 Black women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Canada. The findings reveal a troubling reality: 42 percent had delayed or avoided seeking medical care because they feared discrimination.

"If we have almost half of Black women saying, 'I'm not going to go to the doctor because I'm afraid they're not going to treat me well,' that's why we have poor outcomes," Daniel explained.

The mental health picture is even more stark. Two-thirds of respondents felt dismissed when accessing mental health care, and more than one in four reported experiencing thoughts of self-harm, nearly seven times higher than the national average.

Many shared stories of being denied adequate pain management or accused of drug-seeking when they needed help. The organization works to transform these conditions through research, policy advocacy, and community programming.

For the young Black girls in the institute's summer programs, Mabrey's support means something beyond money. They see a professional athlete who looks like them using her platform to fight for their futures, proving that change happens when people with influence choose to listen and act.