College basketball star proves motherhood doesn't derail your dreams

Sydni Summers was on the rise as a promising and talented college basketball star when she transferred from San Jose State to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In preparing to change schools, she headed to the doctor to undergo a physical, and that routine check-up led to the shock of her young life. Summers was pregnant, and it seemed as if the future she had envisioned for herself was slipping away.

Key Takeaways:

• Sydni Summers loves basketball and was in the process of transferring to play for UNLV when she learned she was pregnant.

• Summers feared pregnancy and motherhood would derail her career.

• Title IX and the NCAA prohibit discrimination against pregnant students and ensure that scholarships are not withdrawn from students who are in good academic standing.

• Summer's daughter now lives with her parents and attends every home game to watch her mom play.

• "Having a baby doesn't have to ruin your life," said Summers.

The Details:

As reported by The Athletic, during the appointment, the doctor told Summers, "You have a lump on your left side. Did you know that?" Then she asked her, "Are you pregnant?"

Summer's response was to laugh. She hadn't missed her period, and she was playing basketball as usual. She was wearing crop tops and noticed no difference in her body. This was not enough to convince the doctor, who ran tests and found that Summers was actually five and a half months pregnant.

Her mother, Cynthia Summers, told The Athletic, "That was my first experience of seeing her cry to the bone. You could just tell she thought her entire career was over."

Fear is a normal response to an unexpected pregnancy, especially for a young college woman who has grown up in a society that encourages girls to have sex freely, then shames them for becoming pregnant, and lies to them, telling them that motherhood will prevent them from achieving their goals.

“I was panicking,” said Summers. “I knew I had to tell Coach Lindy, but I was scared. I was worried about my scholarship.”

Title IX protects students from discrimination based on pregnancy and childbirth. Under Title IX, it is against the law to revoke or reduce a scholarship when an athlete is in good academic standing and has not withdrawn from her team. Colleges must allow excused absences and offer medical leave for pregnancy and childbirth, and pregnant students must also be afforded the opportunity to make up any missed assignments.

In addition, the NCAA prohibits discrimination against student athletes because of pregnancy and childbirth. If a modification is provided to any other student athlete due to a medical condition, that same modification must be provided to a pregnant student athlete.

Yet, female athletes who become pregnant in college often wrongly believe that they will never be able to successfully complete their education, and this erroneous belief stems from years of a pro-abortion agenda aimed at convincing girls they are incapable and that it is too difficult, if not impossible, for mothers to find success in other areas of their lives. Still, just because these anti-discrimination rules exist doesn't mean schools will voluntarily follow them or inform students about them. Young pregnant women may have to fight for their rights.

But Summer isn't afraid of a challenge. At age eight, she was playing basketball on the 11-year-old boys' team. In high school, she was a three-time all-league player. At San Jose State, she made the Mountain West All-Freshman team. Now, on the brink of realizing her college basketball dreams, she learned she could continue pursuing her goals thanks to the support she received from those around her.

Her father, Brent Summers, who had lost another daughter to myocarditis when she was 14 and had faced infertility with Cynthia before having Summers, saw Summers as their miracle child. He and Cynthia told Summers that her baby would be welcomed and loved. They said that no matter how scared she was, they would be by her side.

Summers called Coach Lindy La Roque to tell her she was pregnant. La Roque encouraged her to come to UNLV in the summer to be with the team, not to wait until the fall. She told her, "The quickest way you can build some of the healthiest relationships is to be vulnerable. Things are going to be hard, and you're going to need to trust your teammates." La Roque may have been one of the best coaches for Summer because she herself was a mother of two, and during one of her pregnancies, her water broke on the sidelines during a game.

"I don't know if there's a coach more equipped to help you through this than me," she told Summer.

Summer told The Athletic, “I was hoping to just not come during the summer, and then they’d just see me pregnant in the fall. But Coach Lindy said I had to tell them beforehand. I had to let them trust me, and I had to trust them. I had to be vulnerable.”

So when the time came to meet her new team, La Roque called Summer up, telling the other players that she had an announcement. Summer stood before them, crying, telling them, "I'm not really sure how to start this. I'm pregnant." Her teammates rushed to her and embraced her, some of them crying happy tears.

“I’d seen (on social media) players that were pregnant and had babies,” teammate Destiny Brown said. “But I never had it happen to one of my teammates. We were all excited to have a team baby.”

Summer agreed; she just never thought she'd be the one having the baby.

Her baby was due in October, but Summers didn't want to miss the season. "I can't sit out," she said, "I would probably go crazy." So, with the support of her parents, her coaches, her teammates, and athletic trainer Joshua Batshoun, Summer and her baby were well cared for for the rest of her pregnancy. She never missed an appointment and ate nutritious meals. When taking headshots on the team's media day, her teammates encouraged her to take photos that included her baby bump. She agreed, and those photos went viral with more than 4 million views.

The next day, however, Summers had to be induced early and welcomed her daughter, Naziyah Grace Summers.

“That little one is a miracle,” she said of her daughter. “Surviving five months of getting hit (in practices) is crazy. I was playing basketball and falling down and everything.”

Summers was back on the treadmill just days after giving birth and back on the court three months later.

What's Happening Now:

For now, Naziyah lives in California with Summer's parents, visits UNLV every two weeks, and attends every home game to see her mom play.

"After UNLV’s win over Northern Iowa on Nov. 28, Summers holds Naziyah like a football, with her grapefruit-sized head resting in the crook of Summers’ arm. Across the court, a little girl watches and repositions her baby doll to mimic the football hold," reported The Athletic.

The fear Summer originally felt about having a baby has melted away, and now, there are 14 college athletes who consider themselves Naziyah's "aunties." It may not have been the future Summer saw for herself, but it certainly is a beautiful one.

"Having a baby doesn't have to ruin your life," she said. "It will be different and it will be hard, but it can also be a blessing."