Nike Celebrates Black Female Athletes in New 'We Play Real' Spot featuring "Les Fleurs"

Nike is honoring some of the most successful and inspiring Black female athletes in a powerful new advertisement featuring Wise Music copyright "Les Fleurs", written by Charles Stepney and Richard Rudolph and made famous by Minnie Riperton.

On Sunday — one day ahead of International Women's Day — Nike released a new clip titled "We Play Real," which celebrates Black women's success and impact in sports like basketball, soccer, tennis, and more.

The video, narrated by actress and playwright Dominique Fishback, includes appearances from A'ja Wilson, Jewell Loyd, Serena Williams, Crystal Dunn, Sydney Leroux, Naomi Osaka, Caster Semenya, Natasha Cloud, Diamond DeShields, Simone Manuel, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Sheryl Swoopes, and Sha'Carri Richardson.

"It's not magic," Fishback, 29, begins her narration. "Yeah, we can make things float. Make something appear out of absolutely nothing. But even the greatest magicians worked at that trick. It's not magic, organic."

She continues, "From the curl in our hair to the tip of our toes. The sway of our hips and the joy of our smile. We give our blood, sweat and tears to give our very best. Even when the world tells us it's never going to be enough."

"We got that thing," Fishback says. "That hooping, soccer-playing, game-changing, oh so resilient double-A outing, butterfly-stroking thing. We worked for all of this. You thought history just made itself? Nah baby, this ain't magic. This, this is the real thing."

 

Courtesy Nike We Play Real Campaign