When 27-year-old Angel McCoughtry was asked to appear nude in ESPN The Magazine’s “The Body Issue,” she didn’t need her father’s approval to accept the offer. But that didn’t mean Roi McCoughtry liked the idea.
“I come from a Christian background, so of course my dad was against it,” Angel McCoughtry said.
Fans of the Dream can see the star forward sans the sky-blue and red gear they’re accustomed to watching her in should they pick up the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine, out this Friday. The first and only female athlete to have her jersey hanging from the rafters at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Arena briefly hung up her Dream jersey to bear it all in what she described as a tasteful nod to athletic ability.
Although McCoughtry’s dad wasn’t on board at first, he found some solace in the athletes’ strategic poses and placing of arms, legs and equipment.
“He didn’t want me to do it, but I did it anyway,” McCoughtry said. “And even he was like today, ‘OK, it’s not bad, not bad.’”
Along with McCoughtry, Venus Williams, Marshawn Lynch, Serge Ibaka, Prince Fielder, Michael Phelps, Larry Fitzgerald and 15 other athletes posed for this year’s “Body Issue.”
Even as an Olympic gold medalist herself, McCoughtry said the opportunity to appear alongside other talented athletes was a reward in itself.
“I thought it was very tasteful and seeing the other athletes, I was very inspired to be with the other athletes,” McCoughtry said. “It was really fun.”
Last year’s “Body Issue” featured Dream teammate Swin Cash. Other WNBA athletes who have appeared in the magazine include Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury.
The release of this issue falls three days after the WNBA named McCoughtry to the Eastern Conference’s starting lineup for the All-Star game July 19.
The league announced the All-Star rosters following McCoughtry’s 22-point performance in the Dream’s 83-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.
McCoughtry ranks second in the WNBA in steals (2.24) only to Dream teammate Sancho Lyttle (2.33) and is the league’s fourth-best scorer with 19.9 points per game.
Dream rookie and fellow Louisville alumnae Shoni Schimmel will join McCoughtry and their coach Michael Cooper (who will coach the East) in Phoenix for the game.
“All-Star games are supposed to be fun; every game is supposed to be fun,” Schimmel said. “But (the All-Star game) is more relaxed and you go out there and enjoy playing with people you (normally) play against. I’m looking forward to it.”
Schimmel is the third consecutive rookie to earn a starting spot in an All-Star game. Schimmel collected the third-most votes of all WNBA players, 25,601 votes. This year is the first in which fans could cast votes on Twitter and Facebook using a hashtag, which Schimmel used to her advantage.
“The fans love Shoni,” McCoughtry said. “She’s just a ‘diaper dandy.’ That’s what we call it.”
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