September 20, 2024
WNBA veteran Layshia Clarendon, league’s first openly nonbinary player, retires after 12 seasons
By Emily Caron
Clarendon spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks
After 12 seasons in the WNBA, Los Angeles Sparks guard Layshia Clarendon has announced their retirement from the league. With Los Angeles missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, Clarendon’s career comes to a close with the end of the W’s regular season campaign.
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Clarendon’s legacy extends far beyond their stat line, though. Off the court, Clarendon spent much of their career fighting for WNBA player rights during two terms as first vice president of the WNBPA and as a foundational member of the players’ association’s social justice council. Clarendon was also the league’s first openly nonbinary and transgender player and a fierce advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.
The ninth overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2013 WNBA Draft, Clarendon is a University of California, Berkeley alum and San Bernardino native. The 33-year-old guard played for six teams over their WNBA career: the Fever, Atlanta Dream, Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, before spending their last two seasons with the Sparks.
Clarendon was named as an All-Star in 2017 and averaged 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists over 284 career games in the WNBA, despite a number of injuries in their final few seasons in the league. During their two-year stint in Los Angeles, Clarendon averaged 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
“It’s bittersweet to reach this time in my life and career,” Clarendon said in a press release. “Coming home to LA and spending my final seasons with the Sparks was deeply meaningful. I wasn’t sure if I would ever make it back to California to play. And I did, which meant the world to me and my family. I want to thank everyone within the organization, my teammates and coaches for all they’ve supported me through. Both big and small. The WNBA is in such a great place and I’ll be forever honored to be one of 144.”
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In a post shared to social media, Clarendon said they were “deeply at peace with this choice as my mind, body, and spirit know unequivocally that it’s time to move on.”
“The saying is that athletes have 2 deaths,” Clarendon wrote. “Our careers and our true last breaths. I can tell you, I have been deeply in mourning over this loss. I’ve loved this game with every ounce of my being.”
“Lay was a true professional, showing up each day with a desire to help our teams compete and improve,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said in the release. “Simply stated, Lay is a winner. Off the court, Lay is a trailblazer and impacted so many with their bravery to be authentic and unapologetic while consistently fighting for the marginalized.”
Miller heaped additional praise on the guard on social media, posting to X (formerly Twitter) to acknowledge Clarendon’s retirement. Indiana Fever general manager Lin Dunn and Sparks GM Raegan Pebley similarly shared their appreciation.
