alexis levi- bouncing to her own beat
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photo by steed media service
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Owner/General Manager, Las Vegas Stars Men’s Basketball Team
You’d think Alexis Levi’s skin was coated in stainless steel, that ice
would course through her veins, that she’s the kind of woman to breathe
commands with molten lava intensity to a collection of quivering
underlings. But the owner and general manager of Las Vegas Stars men’s
pro basketball team is an ordinary woman, performing in an
extraordinary capacity of historic proportions. “I decided I wanted to
have more impact on the sports industry. I didn’t know I was going to
be the first African American female to own a men’s professional
basketball team, so my life has pretty much changed since last August,”
says the former sports agent, who commutes from the East Coast to run
the West Coast team. “There have been a lot of journeys that I’ve had
to take because I’m a woman, a black woman, in a man’s world.” The
Stars play under the International Basketball League, which boasts 32
teams and is operated out of Portland, Ore. At the time of the
interview, the Stars were destined for the playoffs with an 8-2 record,
which has taken the league by surprise. “It’s difficult but I love the
journey. Some men have been difficult; I’m not going to even lie. Some
men shun me,” Levi says. “And not only did I come into a situation
where I was an outsider, we came in and we won. So, now they really
don’t like me, but the team that I have behind me is wonderful. And the
team that I have on the court is wonderful. And as long as they’ve got
my back, I’ve got theirs.” – terry shropshire
