Chamique Holdsclaw Is The Sort Of Role Model Michael Jackson Never Was

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I bring to your attention an awe-inspiring article in Friday's New York Times about WNBA player Chamique Holdsclaw. She is the type of person who should be getting all the hype lavished on Michael Jackson. I know, I know, he sold millions of CDs, she didn't, he was a household name, she wasn't, and he has passed on while she is very much alive.

That said, however, this is a woman who has struggled with depression and won. Her values are terrific, her valor even more impressive, and she is the type of role model young Americans should be taught to emulate:

This time last year, Chamique Holdsclaw said, she was profoundly sad and not thinking much about basketball.

Depression from her grandmother's death two years earlier had finally caught up with her. She said she was frustrated, sad and could not deal with her emotions on her own.

But with help from a strong support group made up of friends and family members and a continued passion for the sport, Holdsclaw has returned to the game she loved and to her dominant form on the court.

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By Bonnie Erbe