Boise State Athletics
Title IX Celebration: Lesley Slaton Brown
4/28/2023 11:00:00 AM | General
As part of its year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Boise State Athletics is celebrating the rich history of Bronco women in sports. Each month (July 2022-June 2023), the Broncos will feature a select woman or group of women whose contributions paved the way for future generations of female student-athletes, coaches, and administration.
In 1988, Lesley Slaton Brown graduated from Boise State University with a B.A. in communications. During her first two years at Boise State, Brown played for the women’s basketball team while on a scholarship.
Brown is the youngest of five siblings, having three brothers and one sister. She grew up in a family that focused on spending quality time together, which typically involved playing some form of sport. The Brown family had a basketball port in front of its house, and while playing, her brothers would use her to pass the ball around so they could get their moves in.
“It started with my brothers saying, ‘okay, we’re going to pass you the ball, you stand there and hold it, and then when I cut, you pass it to me.’ And I remember being like why pass it to you when I can just shoot it myself?,” said Brown.
Brown joined the women’s basketball team at Boise State after being offered an athletic scholarship, due to Title IX, and, in 2019, she proudly shared that she was a product of Title IX when she returned to campus as the keynote speaker for the Boise State Women in Leadership Conference.
“[Title IX] gave me an opportunity, and women access to a scholarship,” said Brown. “So, in the context of which I said [I’m a product of Title IX], that still applies today in that institutions are pushing back on having diversity programs taken out of schools because with the removal of those you would lose people like me.”
Leaving home after growing up in a two-parent household with both sets of grandparents in Brown’s hometown was hard. She needed to adjust to the distance from her family, along with some of the complexities of Boise being a homogenous community.
While her first year in Boise State was difficult, she noted that her saving grace was her team and being a student-athlete. Her second year was completely different after she started getting off campus and involving herself in the community.
“My second year was my transitional change, I grew to love [Boise],” said Brown. “It didn’t really matter what race you were, it was the fact that you cared about education and kids, you know students in athletics.”
After spending two years as a student-athlete at Boise State, Brown transitioned to working as a student assistant to the Dean of Students’ Special Services in the administration building. There, she gained experience in building up programs for minority students, returning women, and people with disabilities, ultimately helping her identify the kind of career she wanted.
On Jan. 5, 2023, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that Brown would be the organization’s new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, starting her position Feb. 1.
In her current role, Brown is responsible for working with the league’s chief people officer and the teams’ diversity and inclusion leaders to drive DEI efforts such as recruitment and retention of diverse talent, the development and enhancement of employee resource programs, and setting and assessing metrics for success, as outlined by the NBA.
Brown’s goal during her first 100 days in office is to focus on listening, learning, and understanding the dynamics of the league’s leadership, business, and operations in order to use the NBA’s far-reaching platform to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.
“The NBA strives to be a leader in diversity, equality, and inclusion,” said Brown. “I did this for a Fortune 500 company that I spent 28 years at, and eight years in this particular role, so I knew what I was getting into. Right now, for me, it’s about really hearing from the different groups and demographics to try and understand how we can go about making some changes to really drive a greater standard for the league.”
Without Title IX, women like Brown would not receive opportunities allowing them to continue breaking boundaries and expectations for future generations.
“The sky’s the limit for you, in any sport, basketball just happened to be mine,” said Brown. “I think when I was a recipient of [Title IX] at 18 years old I didn’t understand the magnitude of what funding a program like that meant. Now that’s what drives me to be a great equalizer and provide opportunities for underrepresented people."
