Portland's WNBA expansion franchise hires team president Inky Son as first employee
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland's WNBA team has hired its first employee, adding team president Inky Son to lead the front office.
The franchise, which will join the league in 2026, made the announcement on Tuesday.
“Inky will lay the groundwork for our future growth,” said Mike Whitehead, who is the managing director of the parent company that owns the team.
Son, who is from South Korea, was the chief administrative officer for the National Basketball Players Association. She left the fashion industry to start a career in sports in 2015 with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
“This is an amazing opportunity to help bring back a WNBA franchise to Portland, a city that loves basketball and has already shown itself to be supportive of women’s sports," Son said.
The WNBA is expanding this season with Golden State and next year in Portland and Toronto. The women's basketball league plans to add at least another team in 2028 and several cities, including Detroit and Philadelphia, have submitted bids to land a franchise.