LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A study from 2024 showed that less than 1% of executive roles in the major U.S. sports leagues are held by black women. Among them is Las Vegas Aces President Nikki Fargas.
WATCH| Anyssa Bohanan talks with Las Vegas Aces President Nikki Fargas
We know them as our three-time WNBA champions. Behind the scenes, Fargas makes that success look easy. I sat down with her for an exclusive one-on-one conversation to discuss her journey, her time with the Aces and her advice for the next generation of leaders.
Watch the full interview with Nikki Fargas on her journey to sports leadership
Q: How did you end up here in this position?
Nikki Fargas: I really feel like my childhood really helped develop who I am today . It was great-grandparents, it was grandparents. We had a community and that’s where it started. It started with us wanting to be more
Q: You have a very successful family and all of these different branches, but you're in a very unique position. There aren't very many women in professional sports leadership, or black women in that role as well. What are some things that you had to overcome to get into the rooms that you're in now?
A: I think, you know there's, a lot of things that you overcome and one of them is making sure that you're confident in who you are. Because you always have been told you got to be twice as good. You don't get a second chance. If you mess up, it may create less of an opportunity for the next woman of color to come behind you, like all of those additional pressures that are put on you, but I think through preparation, you can overcome those pressures.
Q: What would you say being a woman of color in your position that you uniquely bring to that as the president of the Aces?
A: I think I bring a little bit of everything. I think my experience, though, through sports, really lends to the real root of why you participate in sports, right? It teaches you so many other life skills that you want to carry with you. And I think that's allowed me to sit here today.
Q: What advice would you give to other little boys and girls who look like you, who maybe also want to grow up to be in a position like yours?
A: Definitely control these two things. One, it's how hard you work. And then two, the second thing is, is have a good attitude. I do believe this too, for the little boys and girls, just know that even in the midst of failure, that is information. And I do think that that's a lesson that we all should learn, is that mistakes are going to happen. It's what you do to rebound from those mistakes that will start to shape who you are, as the person who you will become.
