A life-changing moment leaves a mark on a player’s heart that could make or break them. Kelsey Mitchell lost her father in 2024, and in 2025, she announced the Mark Mitchell Classic event to honor his passion for basketball. Eric Wheeler also had a similar experience when she lost her mother to cervical cancer.
Melissa Cooper, a strong single mother who raised Erica in Miami and was her biggest inspiration. And now the player has a chance to work on the cancer that took her mother’s life.
Erica Wheeler Talks About Cervical Cancer
WNBA MVP was preparing for her senior year of high school when she received devastating news: her mother had been diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. In 2012, her mother passed away from the disease, the third most common gynecological cancer in the United States.
Now the player is looking to spread awareness about the disease and teamed up with Hologic to launch The Ultimate Defense, an educational campaign designed to increase awareness about routine cervical cancer screening and the power of early detection.
“Life can get the best of you,” Wheeler tells BlackDoctor of her mother, a single parent of three. “You’re super busy, and the priority of a screening is not always at the top. Because as a parent, you are working to survive versus taking care of yourself.”
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While her initiative is driven by her mother’s demise, her recent decision also has Miami’s role. The Miami native is currently happy to be back in the region as she joins the Unrivaled league, representing Vinyl BC.
Erica Wheeler Opened Up On Joining Unrivaled
After scoring one of the most important baskets in her career to seal a playoff berth in the 2025 playoffs, the player is now shining in the Unrivalled league. While returning to Miami was one of the reasons for joining the league, she pointed out many other factors that influenced her decision.
“To be able to still compete at a high level in front of my family, to just be in the States for a longer period of time when typically we’d be overseas playing in Turkey, China, Israel, Australia,” Wheeler said. “It’s super dope.”
Collier and Stewart also won an award for their innovative idea. She also lauded Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier as they ‘changed the game’ and called Unrivaled ‘A player-first league.’