Aces’ Commissioner’s Cup win raises money for ACLU of Nevada

A trophy isn’t the only thing the Aces are bringing back to Las Vegas.

The Aces on Tuesday won the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Chicago Sky, 93-83, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

However, this year’s edition of the Commissioner’s Cup also included a charity aspect. Each WNBA team was paired with a local organization committed to civic engagement. The league donated money to the partner charity based the team’s performance during the 10 designated Commissioner’s Cup games during the first half of the season.

Every win earned the partner organization $2,000 while losses were worth $500. The Aces teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and earned $18,500 after going 9-1 in Commissioner’s Cup games. The Aces won an additional $10,000 by winning the cup final Tuesday.

“Putting money back into the local community in a way that’s meaningful to everybody and also meaningful to our team means a lot to the girls,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said.

The Aces continue their road trip with the first of two consecutive games against the Indiana Fever at 4 p.m. Friday. Both matchups will be played at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Athar Haseebullah is the executive director for the ACLU of Nevada. He said Aces president Nikki Fargas approached the organization several months ago, and the relationship has already been extremely fruitful.

“It’s huge for our organization,” he said.

The recognition from the Aces has felt like vindication for Haseebullah and the ACLU of Nevada staff. While the ACLU is a national organization, Haseebullah only has 11 full-time workers in the state. Receiving support from the Aces has reinforced the belief that the work he and the rest of his staff are doing is having an impact.

Fargas said the Aces chose the ACLU of Nevada because the two organizations had similar values like inclusivity, equity and protections for underrepresented communities. The Aces weren’t alone in their choice. The Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm also selected their local ACLU state affiliates as their partner organizations.

“I just felt like (the ACLU of Nevada) was aligned with what we were trying to do,” Fargas said.

Haseebullah said the money raised by the Aces will go to various community-focused initiatives run by the ACLU of Nevada. One example he gave was a program which helps people pay off low-level traffic violations before they become warrant situations.

The partnership hasn’t been a one-way street, though. The Aces invited the ACLU of Nevada to attend a game July 21, and a couple hundred people showed up to support both organizations. Haseebullah and Fargas believe this can be a relationship that will continue beyond this season.

“We’re going to continue to explore our partnership with the ACLU of Nevada and will continue to explore potential partnerships with other organizations as well,” Fargas said.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.