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After the “Think Pink” game on Sunday, August 30, during which the Washington Mystics sported pink uniforms, the team auctioned off over 40 unique items, raising $39,375 to benefit Breast Health Awareness and Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Marissa Coleman is pleased with the bid.
Photo by Karen Hermann.

The auction started off with some very unique items, including an autographed pair of Temeka Johnson’s rookie sneakers and an autographed Delisha Milton-Jones jersey, prompting one fan in attendance to joke, “Did someone just find this stuff in a closet?”  Perhaps the most unique item in the lineup was an autographed Lisa Leslie Mystics jersey.  Yes, you read that right.  The Mystics had a special Mystics jersey made for the legendary #9, who autographed it for the auction. 

Greg Bibb, the Mystics COO, was the primary auctioneer, but he had a lot of help from Matee Ajavon, who provided colorful commentary throughout the event, including adding that the “Ball Kid for a Day” package would be lots of fun because “you will get to rebound Lang’s bricks!”  Crystal Langhorne, who holds the best shooting percentage on the team, at 59.7 percent, took the jesting in stride.  

Each of the player's game-worn pink jerseys, shorts, headbands and flip-flops were auctioned off.  Chasity Melvin declared hers “sweaty” and modeled it only at arms-length.  Nakia Sanford showed off her runway spin-moves.  Bernice Mosby took the mike from the auctioneer and tried to start the bid for her jersey at $500. 

Ajavon prompted, “B-Mo, you’re gonna have to start a lot lower than that!” 

“Okay, how about four hundred, seventy-five dollars and twenty-five cents?” Mosby responded. 

Not surprisingly, the former ACC-player items brought out the most generous bidders.  Lunch with Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman went for $2,000.  Alana Beard (#20), who came out on crutches, drew applause from the crowd and a $1,900 donation for her jersey and shooting shirt.  Lindsay Harding proved just how quickly she has become a fan favorite by raising $3,500 for her uniform.  Coleman’s uniform got the highest clothing bid of the night, coming in at a whopping $3,600.   An autographed photo of the “All-ACC Mystics team,” raised more than $1,000, much to the mock dismay of Matee Ajavon (who hails from the Big East), who declared it was only worth $2.  

When it came time to sell her own uniform, Ajavon worked the crowd hard.  “Come on,” she pleaded, “come on.  You can do better than that!”  Eventually, she threw in her shooting shirt, her locker room name tag, lunch with the winning bidder, and finally her earrings, before Greg Bibb lowered the gavel on the impromptu Ajavon package. 

Other items on the auction block included round-trip Amtrak and game tickets to the Mystics/Liberty game in NY on September 13, signed Mystics basketballs, Alana Beard’s 2009 All-Star Game shoes, a signed Alex Ovechkin jersey, an autographed Gilbert Arenas jersey and Wizards basketball, a “Be the GM for a Day” package, a number of Georgetown University items, including an autographed basketball signed by Coach John Thompson, a cooking class with a Mystics player, an original painting of Barack Obama, and a last-minute addition of lodging, food and a round of golf at Sheila Johnson’s golf resort in Florida. 

All in all, the fans were treated to an evening of great interaction with the team and the coaching staff and much fun was had while supporting a good cause.