Champion Ruth Riley receives the Iba Citizen Athlete Award

WNBA star and Nothing But Nets™ Champion Ruth Riley is not a stranger to medals and awards, with a shelf of hardware to show for it. She led the Detroit Shock to WNBA championships in 2003 and 2006, clinched the NCAA title with Notre Dame, and secured an Olympic gold medal. Now that’s quite a list of accomplishments! In fact, she’s one of only seven WNBA athletes who can boast of all three honors. Yet Nothing But Nets™ knows that what truly sets Ruth apart is her off-the-court performance, which has recently turned heads as well.

On Monday, Ruth was named the female 2010 recipient of the 17th Annual Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award, an honor that recognizes positive role models who not only excel in their sport, but also show by their actions a desire to help others. What better way is there to describe Ruth? We have seen Ruth’s compassion firsthand as she has gone above and beyond to help those affected by malaria, from traveling to Mali to witness the impact of this disease to raising awareness in the U.S. and using her voice on Capitol Hill. As the WNBA star said after receiving her award on Monday, “You can live your life in a way that can touch others even beyond your years here.”

Ruth has touched countless lives in the global fight against malaria and we are proud to have her on our Nothing But Nets™ team. Congratulations to Ruth on this well-deserved accomplishment!