Unquiet Journey: A Message of Hope and Healing
The Fresno City College Speakers Forum is pleased to bring Olympic Gold Medalist and WNBA Hall of Famer, Chamique Holdsclaw to the college on Thursday, March 20, 2025, She will appear at 12:00pm in the Old Administration Building Auditorium and will share her experiences as a student athlete and the serious mental health struggles that she experienced. Admission is free. Off-campus attendees should purchase a $1 daily parking pass.
About Chamique Holdsclaw
Hailed as the “female Michael Jordan,” Chamique Holdsclaw was a basketball superstar. From leading The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers to three straight NCAA national championships with her team and legendary Coach Pat Summitt to the Olympics to the WNBA, nearly no one has had more focus or drive on the court. And yet underneath, she was pushing down mental health issues that eventually led to a total mental and physical breakdown.
Chamique suffered from serious bouts of depression and manic episodes, a suicide attempt and an incident in Atlanta involving a firearm. After the episode in Georgia, she was finally open to getting help and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and severe anxiety.
After a long journey of learning to manage her illness, Chamique has come back just as fierce. But this time, she’s dedicated her life’s work to mental health and wellness activism--sharing her own personal struggles with depression depicted in her documentary, Mind|Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw.
She first made her mark as a high school basketball star at Christ The King High School. She later accepted a full athletic scholarship to play for Tennessee. The three straight championships for the Volunteers were the first that had ever been accomplished in Women’s College Basketball history.
After her illustrious college basketball career, which included several All-American honors and countless other awards, Chamique would go on to be the #1 Pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. Her rookie season was capped with a WNBA Rookie of the Year Award as well as her first of six WNBA All-Star appearances. In 2000, she had the honor of winning an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In 2018, she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
