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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hoops & Justice
Greater Louisville, KY
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By: Paul Najjar
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Photo(s) By: Shelley Rassenfoss
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Former hoop star Susan Yates Ely is now a protector and advocate for victims of domestic violence
As Susan Yates, she was a standout basketball player for Sacred Heart Academy from 1982-1986. Her awards and accolades included: 1st team All-State her senior year, academic All-American, top scorer in Sacred Heart’s history from 1986 to 2004, (her record was surpassed by Krystal Kelly, who now plays in the WNBA), and Converse Girls National High School Player of the Year in 1986.
Yates then matriculated at Centre College and made it to two Division III Final Four tournaments. She was named to the All-Conference team all four years and selected to the prestigious Division III Kodak All-American team her senior year.
Not a bad resume for a talented, scrappy sharp-shooter. But wait, there’s much more.
After earning her law degree and gaining a husband, Tim, Susan Yates Ely became a prosecutor for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office in 1994. She was appointed to her current position as Division Chief of the Domestic Violence Unit for that office in 2001. Her office has three major tasks: to help victims of domestic violence, to work as advocates for those victims, and to work with many community partners to help those victims escape domestic violence.
In that time, she and Tim have also added three children to the family: Andrew, Claire and Charlie.
Yates Ely says her high school coach, the legendary Bunny Daugherty, and her teammates have had a lot to do with her success. “Coach Daugherty always said, ‘There is no I in team,’” recalls Yates Ely, “and I couldn’t have accomplished anything without my teammates then. They are still some of my best friends to this day. And I can’t accomplish anything without the help of my unit, my teammates in this office, and the community groups that work with us.”
The lessons learned as a high school hoopster have stayed with her through the years. “So many valuable lessons were taken from those coaches, teams and experiences. Strong lessons like learning to win and lose with integrity and sportsmanship, working hard to get what you want, feeling empowered because of the work you put in and not just relying on talent,” says Yates Ely.
She’s brought along those lessons to her current work as an advocate for victims of domestic violence and prosecutor to those who commit such crimes. Yates Ely makes another analogy from her sports experience: “By nature I’m a competitive person, but my job calls for justice. I want to keep victims safe, hold offenders accountable and make sure the problems do not continue.”
While disappointment and sometimes failure are definitely a part of her current job, Yates Ely says there was disappointment in her playing days. “I never got to play in a State Tournament and we were ranked in the top 5 in the state my entire senior year,” she says. “We even beat the state champion from that year in the Louisville Invitational Tournament.” Her voice rises with emotion as she remembers those days. “And though we went to the Final Four at Centre my last two years there, we never won a National Championship. So I’ve had my share of disappointments, but life goes on.”
Yates Ely emphasizes, however, that losing an important high school or college basketball game is much easier to accept than the suffering she sees in her work. “It’s nothing compared to the pain I see victims and their children go through when they are abused by a loved one,” she says. “The courage and perseverance I observe in so many victims amazes me and motivates me to help them escape their abuse.”
Yates Ely credits her athletic career with being a driving force for her professional career. “Those experiences as an athlete helped me become more confident, more disciplined and more competitive,” she says. “The confidence, leadership, teamwork and competitiveness are skills that I learned as a high school player and are put to good use in the work we do with the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit.”
Yates Ely sports a resume that grew from high school hotshot, to college All-American, to top-notch attorney. Not a bad way to make use of the lessons learned on the courts of play of her youth.
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| dontabron - 11:22 am CST on Mon, Dec 29 | report profanity/abuse |
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