Satou Sabally’s skills on the hardwood earned the WNBA player her nickname, but “The Unicorn” is no stranger to standing out off the court too. When the New York Liberty forward shaved her head for alopecia awareness, Sabally could not anticipate the public reaction she’d receive. The online jabs and commentary harkened back to the countless times Black people, from tennis champion Coco Gauff to everyday students such as Darryl George, have been scrutinized for our hair.
However, when Sabally first entered the league, she saw Black women celebrating and owning their hair in so many different forms—and it liberated her. “When I got to the WNBA, I was just in love with all the different hairstyles. It’s so fun to watch all the players show up,” Sabally says. “People would make so many comments about my appearance, simply because I changed my hair. It’s so important to value that freedom that we finally have by choosing whatever you want to do with your hair.”
We caught up with Sabally at the New York Liberty CROWN Day on July 2 in Brooklyn, where she spoke on a panel about the cultural and personal significance of hair and took part in a workshop teaching young girls about hair braiding. For Teen Vogue, Sabally shares what natural hair means to her and the beauty network within the WNBA sisterhood.
Satou Sabally: Hair has so much power. In the Black community, it shapes every day, it shapes culture, and it shapes family dynamics. My sisters and I would always braid each other's hair. My brother would shave my other brother's hair. It’s just so much that ties into daily life that it's so important to talk about it. Unfortunately, there is also a downside of it that affects people of color in schools and jobs, so I think emphasizing to young girls how important it is to embrace their own hair—and know that it's also protected by law–is really phenomenal.
SS: My dad was a Rastafarian, so he had long locs and I always loved his hair. I never had locs, but my brothers did, and I would say that's just a really fun memory for me, because I always thought, “He just looks so powerful. No one else has that.”
SS: I was in Gambia until I was like seven years old, then I moved to Germany, so that was a culture shock. It was very different. In Gambia, my cousins would braid my hair. I had mixed hair, so it was also different, but I really got to love and know different styles. Like, my cousin had the craziest, beautiful hairstyles. We would do a lot of cornrows more than box braids, but in all the different shapes and forms. Then, when I came to Germany, it was just very different. It was very bland, and I almost hid that part of my culture once I was there. I didn't find it again until I was 15 or 16, until I had this epiphany.
In Germany, I was often the only person of color in the classroom many times. Boys would try to be funny and throw paper straws in my hair because it would get caught in my fro. I came home crying one time and I told my mom, “I want straight hair. I don’t want my curls anymore.” After I had this really frustrating hair day at school, my mom just made me really feel beautiful. She took her time with me, brushed my hair, did a deep condition and we had a whole spa day. I have a white mom, so when I look at younger baby pictures, I'm like, “Oh my gosh, she let us walk around like [that],” but it was a learning process for her too. How you tend to yourself is really powerful, so take those moments just to be with yourself and love your hair, truly. But around 15 years old, when she didn't allow me to straighten my hair for that exact reason, it completely shifted my mindset.
SS: It was funny. As soon as I shaved my hair, I felt this wave of feeling more feminine. I felt like I could feel my whole body, like I was really in tune with myself when I shaved it.
So when that whole backlash came from people that feel like I care about their opinion of how they perceive me, it was really weird to me, because they tried to make me more masculine. That happens a lot, especially to Black women athletes. Like, how much does Serena Williams get talked about her hair? She’s such a decorated athlete—and you dare to talk about her appearance? Mind you, she’s beautiful.
I was really adamant about always slicking my hair and now, knowing how much damage that also does, whereas you can just put up a high bun and have curls coming out. But the way that we perceive our own hairstyles not to be pretty if we don't put any products in is really weird.
SS: I ask the other girls for advice. When you like the style, just ask your sis! I literally ask DiJonai Carrington all the time. It's funny because we get into altercations every single game, because we're so competitive, but I really respect her. I mean, she's just gorgeous and she really will give advice. It's like, “Just put a little concealer here and there.” I never use concealer and I was really basic: do my eyebrows, lashes, and a lip gloss. Now, this season, I went to a red lipstick, because I'm like, you guys are gonna see this! I don't care what anyone else says, I totally embrace it, because I just love being a girl.
SS: It means you can tell your story. You’re able to tell your story in the WNBA and our versatility, too. You’re not put into a box, where you have to conform to that. I mean, even men in the NBA, they hide that they're getting bald, which is super natural. And when I [shaved my head], I felt so powerful, because I'm like, “Yeah, not even men can do that, haha!” I'm joking about it, but it's so deep, how hair can really impact you and how people really care about how other people perceive you. I think the more variation you see within everyone else in the WNBA, all these young girls and young boys watching us can find themselves in minimum one player. That’s the beauty of The W.
