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New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke lived through her team’s past and celebrated its championship present.
Now, she’s ready to build its legacy.
During a panel hosted by The Female Quotient at Google Pixel’s Player’s Lounge on NBA All-Star Weekend, Clarke addressed the audience in a Liberty varsity jacket from the team’s partners at fashion label Off-White that she said she hadn’t worn since the team’s championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan in October. Given her 14-year history with the sports franchise leading up to that title, there’s significant equity in that jacket’s seafoam accents and emerald glitter.
When Clarke arrived at the Liberty in 2011 after nearly five years in the NBA’s offices, the founding WNBA franchise was being forced from its Madison Square Garden home by renovations and starting what became three years at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. In 2018, while trying to sell the Liberty, the Madison Square Garden Company relocated the team to a 5,000-seat arena in White Plains.
The narrative changed distinctly when Joe and Clara Wu Tsai bought the team in 2019, gave it a fresh brand, moved games to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and invested heavily in both roster and support. A trip to the finals in 2023 led to the Liberty running it back in 2024 and beating the Minnesota Lynx for the WNBA title. Now, with a ring in hand, roots in the home market, and a full roster of marketable assets—including Brooklyn-imbued mascot Ellie—Clarke told the panel’s audience that the Liberty was no longer focused solely on drawing crowds but on creating values-based, long-term partnerships.
After the panel, Clarke sat down with ADWEEK and discussed the Liberty’s identity, its place in its surrounding community, and its leadership role both as a sports marketer and a WNBA franchise that’s endured since 1996.
