Professional athletes are now joining the book club trend, with NBA and NHL players organizing literary gatherings within their teams. San Antonio Spurs players Victor Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes are spearheading a book club initiative to engage more teammates, as seen in a video on the NBA’s YouTube channel. Similarly, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks boast a secretive book club involving players like Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini, with a humorous twist of keeping their reading choices under wraps.
In the world of women’s sports, athletes from the PWHL and WNBA, such as the Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Toronto Tempo, and New York Liberty, are bonding over books. Forward Claire Dalton of the Toronto Sceptres highlighted the team’s passion for reading, reflecting on her previous book club experience with the Montreal Victoire. Dalton, along with goalie Raygan Kirk, initiated the Sceptres’ book club, utilizing prompts from Google and Reddit for engaging discussions. Their reading list includes titles like “Gone Before Goodbye” by Reese Witherspoon, “The Heir Apparent” by Rebecca Armitage, and “Palm Villa” by Ashley Hartley, drawing in around 15 players during the regular season.
The Toronto Tempo, a newly formed WNBA team, embraced the book club concept to foster team chemistry, inspired by guard Kia Nurse and her teammate Nyara Sabally’s shared love for reading. The team’s first book discussion centered around the thriller “It Should Have Been You” by Andrea Mara, with Nurse orchestrating a donut-fueled gathering on a flight. Nurse emphasized the value of reading as an escape from the pressures of athletics, providing athletes like herself a chance to explore different identities beyond sports.
The impact of these sports teams’ book clubs extends beyond their locker rooms, resonating with fans and communities. The Toronto Sceptres’ book club, for instance, garnered significant social media attention, prompting the team to share their reading selections with fans. This engagement led to collaborative events like Sceptres Storytime with The Children’s Book Bank, promoting literacy and diverse reading role models for children. The initiative aims to break stereotypes and show kids that reading is not only educational but also enjoyable and inclusive.