The 2027 WNBA All-Star Game coming to the Bay Area is a testament to what the Golden State Valkyries have built in such a short time… a passionate fanbase, sellout energy, and a community that has embraced women’s basketball at scale. — Zaileen Janmohamed, CEO, Bay Area Host Committee
For former athlete and Bay Area resident Shamekka Marty, the announcement that the Golden State Valkyries will host WNBA All-Star 2027 in San Francisco means more than another major sporting event coming to her city.
It’s an opportunity to bring her mission of athlete wellness directly into the weeklong celebration.
Marty is the CEO ofBeyond the Game Health. Because of ailments she’s dealt with and is currently dealing with, her goal is to educate athletes from all over on how to advocate for themselves, make them aware of various aspects of their health and provide an outlet for them to grow in and outside of their sport.
Here’s how Marty described her mission to Swish Appeal:
I saw that the power of sports and also just really getting to know a lot of players throughout my journey and seeing what they go through, and I saw something there. I can use sports as a vehicle of ways to help raise awareness… I started navigating through the different sports industries, especially with the WNBA before the new agreement that came out, and we’re still fighting.
Though I mean, it’s a great agreement, but just learning-you know what? Healthcare is not really there after the game. It’s not really there. How can we protect our players? Because I know that there are things out there that can be done, and what can we do about that? What happens when the checks stop coming?
Through health fairs, literacy programs, panels and other events and activities that tie an athlete to the community and their health, Marty is determined to reach anyone who wants to discover an extensive range of possibilities that can stretch their potential in the right direction.
And now, she has the opportunity to bring that work to one of the biggest weeks on the women’s basketball calendar.
After already partnering with Tiffany Hayes, Shamekka Marty has big plans for All-Star Weekend in the Bay
Marty not only works closely with both professional basketball teams in the Bay Area, but she also has a close relationship with Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes.
Through prioritizing transformational over transactional relationships, she’s collaborated with Hayes through her foundation, Living On Purpose, and helped coordinate the WNBA Legends Brunch during All-Star Week. Meeting Hayes through a mutual friend, the two maintained their relationship off the court and came together to find ways to be there for their fellow athletes while also helping each other grow their brands.
Hayes was someone who joined the Valkyries during their inaugural season in 2025. Since then, she said that she was all in from the start on what Golden State had to offer. As Hayes wrote in The Players’ Tribune:
I still remember that day last year when I arrived for the first time. I’d recently won the Sixth Player of the Year award after my one season in Vegas. But for whatever reason, something just really drew me to Golden State. I loved the idea of doing something that might be uncomfortable, and trying to build something from the ground up.
That same feeling is what the Bay Area wants fans from all over to experience in 2027.
Marty excitedly spoke to Swish Appeal about the activations she’s planning under her brand and what she’s looking forward to seeing come to life during the event.
“What I can say is it’s going to be craziness. I mean, I know I’m not going to be able to breathe or just have five minutes myself.”
The first activation will be a mixer honoring Black and Brown women in sports. The next will be a brunch with a panel that ties a health component to it. She also wants to host a few clinics free of charge for people to take part in alongside their favorite athletes. As Marty explained:
Accessibility is a huge thing. Like I said in the beginning of the conversation, some people love sports and are really big sports fans, and no one thinks about the families that can’t afford it because of food insecurity. Or they might have parents that can’t afford it due to medical reasons.
I want to make it free for them…That resonates with a lot of kids, where they’re like, “Oh my God, I can, I can even be able to meet them (the players). I can even be able to talk with them,” and have some of the OGs of the game—the Cheryl Millers, the Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley—to be a part of it.
And lastly, Marty wants to incorporate an event just for moms to enjoy a wellness reset while they’re there called “Moms of the Sport.” She emphasized:
Nobody talks about how much they (moms) have sacrificed to get their children. Especially Tiffany (Hayes) talks about this all the time. She’s like, “It was just me and my mom.” We want to honor them, give them a spa treatment, take them somewhere, put that together. Nobody does the activations for the moms, and we want to be first to do something like that.
WNBA All-Star 2027 is just part of Shamekka Marty’s advocacy for athletes
Marty has lived in the Bay Area for 11 years, but she’s made the city her home and wants her advocacy for health in sports to be at the forefront in what adds to the city’s sports scene. She’s already helped organize and take part in conferences and events to support athletes, especially WNBA athletes.
Now, with the WNBA All-Star 2027 being local to her and her community, she can take advantage of the opportunity to educate more people of all ages on the importance of taking care of themselves on and off the court.
Here’s how Marty puts it:
You cannot pour from an empty cup.
So you have to be able to be okay with checking in with yourself if you’re not there mentally and if physically, if something’s going on, there will be other games. Not make a costly mistake and go back in.
But for me, meeting in the Bay, it shows the power of women’s sports.
For Marty, bringing Beyond the Game Health to WNBA All-Star 2027 is about more than creating events. It’s about making health, accessibility and athlete advocacy part of the conversation when the basketball world comes together in celebration.
Now, it’s the perfect time for fans to start planning for the trip to the Bay to see what Marty and her collaborators have in store to make WNBA All-Star 2027 a fun and educational weekend that’ll resonate with athletes, fans and the community for years to come.
To learn more about Beyond the Game Health, including health screenings, mental health resources and educational opportunities they provide, visit beyondthegamehealth.com. To learn more about Marty and her advocacy, visit shamekkamarty.com.
