Photographs by Jennifer Pottheiser

Play for Equality 

With Moolah Kicks, Natalie White ’20 is changing the conversation around women's basketball. 

Portrait of Natalie White holding her new sneaker

Growing up, Natalie White ’20 competed on some of New York City’s top basketball teams. She went on to play club ball at 51, where she was also a women’s basketball manager. During her years on the court, one thing remained constant: White had to shop for sneakers in the men’s or kids’ section. “The lack of women’s basketball shoes not only has a negative social implication—that women don’t belong in basketball,” she said, “but it also has negative performance implications, because women’s feet are different than men’s.” So, during her senior year at the Carroll School, the finance and entrepreneurship major launched , a company that designs basketball shoes specifically for women—lighter, with a higher arch and a narrower heel. Proper-fitting sneakers, of course, are just the first step toward equality in the sport, White said. “There needs to be greater investment in and greater financial opportunity for women who play basketball.” 


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