{"id":876630,"date":"2026-10-09T19:06:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T19:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/876630\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T19:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T19:06:20","slug":"wnba-legend-tina-charles-is-the-new-york-libertys-all-time-leading-scorer-shes-also-its-newest-intern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/876630\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA legend Tina Charles is the New York Liberty’s all-time leading scorer. She’s also its newest intern."},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 During a stoppage in Game 2 of the New York Liberty<\/a>\u2019s first-round WNBA<\/a> playoff series against the Minnesota Lynx last week, the jumbotron showed Liberty legend Tina Charles<\/a>, prompting a roar from the sellout crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Under her name on the jumbotron read \u201cLiberty all-time scorer,\u201d acknowledging the 3,739 points Charles scored for the franchise from 2014-19. Charles, who retired in May<\/a> following a 14-season, accolade-laden career, thought a different title would have been more suitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, what I wanted there \u2014 I was like, \u2018Put Liberty intern,\u2019\u201d Charles said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tFor Tina Charles’ former teammates, her impact and legacy extend beyond the court \u2013 Andscape\t\t\t\tRead now
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Since September, Charles has served as an intern in the Liberty\u2019s front office as she pursues a master\u2019s degree in sports management at her alma mater, the University of Connecticut<\/a>. <\/p>\n

For Charles, the internship has been the latest venture in what she describes as a transformative period in her life as she delves further into her identity off the basketball court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really great just to get to know myself,\u201d Charles said. \u201cI think I gave everything I could in the space of basketball on and off the court. Now, I just get to be Tina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to retirement, Charles saw herself as the type of former player who would need a complete break from basketball \u2014 or, as she put it, \u201cgo under a rock and do my own thing.\u201d That changed when she was offered roles as an analyst for multiple networks covering the WNBA and FIBA World Cup in September.<\/p>\n

That experience allowed her to enjoy the game from a different seat, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I fell in love with the game even more in a different way with a different understanding of it,\u201d Charles said.<\/p>\n

The internship stemmed from a phone call Charles made to Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, whom Charles has known since she joined the franchise as a player in 2014. At that time, Clarke worked in New York\u2019s marketing department.<\/p>\n

Charles, who has leaned on Clarke over the years for occasional business advice, asked if she could begin an internship with the Liberty as she pursued graduate school at UConn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an absolute no-brainer,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cI don\u2019t typically have an intern who reports directly to me, so this is unique in that regard. This is really about exposure from the crossover and transition from being a pro athlete to learning the ins and outs of a pro franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles reports to the Liberty office around 10 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Over the course of a day, she will shadow Clarke in meetings about operations, marketing, brands and partnerships \u2014 even, or especially, meetings for mascot Ellie the Elephant. On Wednesdays, Charles makes the two-hour drive to Storrs, Connecticut, to attend her sports management classes at UConn.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"New<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tNew York Liberty mascot Ellie brings Black creativity to WNBA \u2013 Andscape\t\t\t\tRead now
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The idea of Charles \u2014 who also holds the franchise career record for rebounds \u2014 re-entering the organization as an intern has naturally resulted in moments of jest. At the start of her internship in September, Charles posed with a sign often reserved for a child\u2019s first day at school. It listed her age (\u201c37\u201d), what she loves (\u201cbeer\u201d) and who she wants to be when she grows up (\u201cKeia Clarke\u201d).<\/p>\n

While Charles enters the internship with significant playing acumen, she also brings an entrepreneurial pedigree not many players can boast within their first six months of retirement. In addition to continuing to work with her Hopey\u2019s Heart<\/a> foundation \u2014 which raises awareness of sudden cardiac arrest by placing automated external defibrillators in various locations \u2014 she also founded a new craft beer company, 78 Brewing Co.<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n

Clarke said that r\u00e9sum\u00e9 gives Charles a unique ability to capitalize on the experience of her internship in a number of ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Tina, this experience is just another prong in that wheel. She\u2019s sort of a Jill of all trades,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cI think coming from a space of [the] internship, while we sort of laugh and joke and we call her \u2018the legend slash intern\u2019 \u2026 really, it allows for space. There\u2019s air cover for her to ask questions \u2014 for her not to know everything \u2014 but also, at the same time, to be able to apply it to real businesses or real situations and real leadership opportunities that she\u2019s also executing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles said players are taught to live in the moment, whether that\u2019s within a game or a single possession. As an intern under Clarke, that mentality has been flipped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in the front office, you have to plan ahead,\u201d Charles said. \u201cYou have to be two, three months ahead of what your marketing plan is, brands and partnerships, players, experiences, just how everything ties together for it to be seamless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles has gained a deeper appreciation for the work done by those outside the players and coaching staff who really make the franchise go. Clarke recalled bringing Charles to an all-hands meeting in which the team presented the concept for the Liberty\u2019s new opening video for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sort of watching other people\u2019s reaction in the room, and particularly I\u2019m watching Tina\u2019s,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cWe walked out of that meeting and she said, \u2018I had no idea. Players have no idea. We\u2019re in the arena. We hear the music. We see the videos, but we don\u2019t know how much goes into it.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

Charles\u2019 perspective as a former player has also shone in the brands and partnerships department, where she emphasizes the importance of player education regarding partnership and franchise initiatives. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a player, you go into your locker room and there\u2019s a gift,\u201d Charles said. \u201cThere\u2019s products for you to use, but we\u2019re not given the explanation of when or why we should use it, or why it\u2019s important for us to engage and want to make the partnership what the organization was hoping it would become. So, education is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles credits Clarke with creating an environment in which she felt her voice and perspective held value. For Clarke, Charles\u2019 perspective has filled a void in the Liberty\u2019s process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has curiosity, and she\u2019s not afraid to speak up. She asks questions and she gives comments,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cWe don\u2019t always have the benefit of including someone who just finished [playing], to give the player perspective on some of the marketing, community or partnership initiatives. \u2026 Hopefully, she benefits as much as we\u2019re benefiting so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles\u2019 fulfillment within her internship extends beyond the work itself. She holds great admiration for the Black women at the helm of the Liberty\u2019s operations: Clarke; Shana Stephenson, chief brand officer; and Morgan Taylor, vice president of business operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing three Black women in these positions holding these titles is very inspiring,\u201d Charles said. \u201cYou don\u2019t really see that. So it\u2019s great to just see how they all work together, how everything blends together, everything behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles isn\u2019t entirely sure what route she will take upon graduation. While she wants to work in a WNBA front office, she isn\u2019t rushing the pursuit. Instead, she enjoys figuring out her next move while absorbing everything she can from the different rooms she has occupied since retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s beauty in that,\u201d Charles said. \u201cBroadcasting has been really great to me. My beer company and the growth of it is important to me right now. [I\u2019m] just staying close to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juggling multiple entrepreneurial hats, Charles is fully immersed in her internship with the franchise that ushered in one of the most dominant eras of her career. While she\u2019ll remain an all-time franchise great for what she accomplished on the court, Charles is building a new chapter outside of her playing career. <\/p>\n

She would like the arena\u2019s jumbotron to reflect that transition as well. <\/p>\n

Charles joked, \u201cI think they\u2019re going to put \u2018Liberty intern\u2019 next time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Hurd is a senior writer for Andscape who primarily covers women\u2019s basketball. His athletic peak came at the age of 10 when he was named camper of the week at a Josh Childress basketball camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 During a stoppage in Game 2 of the New York Liberty\u2019s first-round WNBA playoff series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":876631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-876630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}