TL;DR
- Kysre Gondrezick is the first Black professional athlete featured as a Playboy playmate.
- She believes her Playboy appearance causes unease due to evolving opportunities for women.
- Gondrezick notes that breaking new ground, like Angel Reese at Victoria's Secret, still invites criticism.
- She hopes to create opportunities for young women by shattering expectations.
Kysre Gondrezick achieved a milestone, becoming the inaugural Black professional athlete to be featured as a Playboy playmate, having been chosen as the cover subject for June 2025. Nevertheless, in a conversation on 7PM in Brooklyn alongside Carmelo Anthony, she explained her perspective on why her appearance in Playboy caused unease for certain individuals.
“We’re in a position now where we’re being offered the same resources and opportunities as our male counterparts,” she said.
“That’s uncomfortable, I think, for people because of the new time that we’re in," she continued. "There has been a stereotype when it comes to women that we’ve always just supposed to take the background, and just take care of the foundation, and that we can’t build our own, right?”
She referenced her former teammate, Angel Reese, who also achieved a milestone by being the inaugural professional athlete to participate in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this year. While breaking new ground is an honor, it unfortunately still results in facing criticism from detractors.
“People aren’t ready to embrace that yet,” she said. “They’re not even giving us permission to be able to embrace it. Like, while Angel has done Victoria’s Secret—and I can’t speak upon her—as I have done PlayBoy, I’m sure she can relate.
"Or anyone else who's shattering expectations, we're still discovering our identities. We're still figuring out how to overcome obstacles and feel at ease with all that entails. … I'm hoping I'm creating opportunities for young women who never imagined this could happen.”
Gondrezick is presently unattached, having formerly played for The Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky.
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