Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Series
Documentary, Sport
Women’s basketball in Philadelphia has always run deep. We have only just begun to scratch the surface of the untold stories in this city.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Series
Documentary, Sport
1 Campaigns | Pennsylvania, United States
12 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$2,085
Goal: $60,000 for pre-production
Women’s basketball in Philadelphia has always run deep. We have only just begun to scratch the surface of the untold stories in this city.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
It was 2020. The world had stopped. And filmmaker, Melanie Page went home to the DMV.
In a conversation with some of the young players her mom coached, Melanie was shocked to learn how uninformed and unaware they were. How could they not know the legendary Nikki McCray who made history as the first player signed to the Washington Mystics, right there in their community? How did they not know the names of the legends like Rebekkah Brunson, Penny Moore, Jonquel Jones, Jasmine Thomas, Marissa Coleman and many more who played on the courts and walked the halls of their very own schools?
Something needed to be done.
When it came to women’s basketball history and the hoopers from the DMV who had shaped her world, the lack of access to their stories was unacceptable. Page needed to sit with these legends, hear their stories, and share that knowledge with the younger players who looked up to her in the same way she looked up to them.
A few conversations turned into 58 interviews. Fifty-eight of the most notable players and industry professionals who call DC, Maryland, and Virginia home.
And somewhere in those conversations, Melanie found her purpose.
The award-winning Can't Retire From This: DMV tells the love story of women's basketball, its deep roots in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia community, and all the places that love for the game took them.
One of the central voices in the DMV film is Coach Diane Richardson known to everyone in the game as the Queen of the DMV.
When we checked back in with Coach Rich about where she was on her journey, she didn't hesitate.
She took us straight to Philadelphia.
Coach Rich wasn't going to let us come to Philly without making sure we met the right people. Enter Yolanda Laney and Marilyn Stephens; two legends who gave us an entire day and reminded us of everything we learned in the DMV. It was 2020 deja vu, 5 years later in 2025.
Philadelphia's hoopers had much more of their story ready and waiting to be told.
And just like that, the next chapter was written.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia. The love letter to Philadelphia women's basketball.
YOU CAN'T TELL THE STORY OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONESTLY WITHOUT PHILADELPHIA AT THE CENTER.
The players, the coaches, and the culture that formed here spread everywhere else. Philadelphia is a Mecca of women's basketball. And most of that story has never been formally documented.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia tells the story of women's basketball through the eyes of the city, peeling back the layers of grit and tough love to get to the root of the experiences and the people who paved the way for everything we're seeing today.
We didn't just come for the legends. We came for the whole community.
IN ONE TRIP TO PHILLY, WE FOUND THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING
Two days.
Well really… 36 hours.
9 interviews.
We sat with some of the most significant voices in Philadelphia women's basketball history.
Yolanda Laney. Marilyn Stephens. Coach Diane Richardson. Jen Leary, founder of The Stoop Pigeon by Watch Party PHL. Ashley Lunkenheimer of The Philadelphia Sisters. Jeannine Kayembe Oro, historian and founder of the Black Women's Basketball Museum.
We headed back to Philadelphia 30 days later for The Assist. A Can't Retire Project live activation where Marilyn Stephens and Lynn Arturi-Chiavaro of the Philadelphia Fox sat across from the Temple University women's basketball team seated in the first two rows, and spoke directly to them.
About what it cost. About what it gave back. About what those young women in front of them were inheriting without knowing it.
The Assist also featured a screening of CRFT: DMV and the CRFT: Philly teaser. After the screenings, FOX29 sports anchor Breland Moore moderated a talkback with Coach Rich and Yolanda Laney. In that conversation, in that room, Yolanda Laney announced her pledge to make this documentary possible. And Coach Rich immediately followed suit to match that contribution.
It was not a transaction. It was a passing of the torch, in public, in front of the next generation.
PHILADELPHIA IS READY.
Look at what just happened.
The Golden State Valkyries, the most recent WNBA expansion team, sold out every single home game in their first season and made the playoffs as a brand new program.
The Unrivaled Philadelphia weekend sold out Xfinity Mobile Arena with a record-breaking 21,490 attendees. In January 2026, notable Philly Jawns, Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud came home to a crowd that showed exactly the kind of love and support this city is made of.
The most recent chapter of the women's basketball love story is already being written by Philly women carrying the torch that was handed to them by the legends we are documenting right now. The Can't Retire Project is building the bridge between those two worlds.
Past and present. Legacy and future. The archive that connects all of it.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia is a love letter.
A living archive built...
IN community
WITH community.
FOR every girl in Philadelphia who will ever pick up a basketball.
HONORING the women who paved the way for them.
Capturing the interconnectedness of the women in this city.
Ultimately, this film will show the world exactly what hoopers mean when they say:
"I Can't Retire From This"
WHAT DOES THIS PHASE FUND?
Our 36 hours was just the beginning.
We celebrated the start of this love letter to Philly with The Assist: Philly during Unrivaled Philadelphia weekend. The energy in that room confirmed everything we already knew.
Phase 1 is dedicated entirely to Research & Development. We have only begun to scratch the surface of this story, and the archive is gradually taking shape. To do this the right way, we need to go deeper.
We need to return to Philadelphia for more conversations to unearth the endless stories to be shared and reach even more voices than we found in our first 36 hours.
Philadelphia is home to some of the best libraries, institutional archives, and carefully documented history in the country. Our research and archival partnership with the Black Women's Basketball Museum connects us to the Charles L. Blockson Collection at Temple University and other community archives, we have access to photographs, programs, recordings, and memorabilia that have never been digitized and exist nowhere else.
There are private collections in this community that have been preserved by families for decades, waiting for someone to come and ask about them the right way. The Can’t Retire Project is answering that call to action.
Most of all, this phase gives us the opportunity to be present. We can't wait to spend time in vibrant community spaces like Philadelphia Youth Basketball's Sixth Man Center, visit a Skilladelphia summer camp, step in the gymnasium at Dobbins Tech, or be there for the grand opening of The Stoop by Watch Party PHL. That presence is what makes the difference between a documentary and a living archive.
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS ARE A RUNWAY.
By 2030, Philadelphia will have its own WNBA franchise. The Philadelphia Sisters have put in the work to create a network of supporters already invested in the longevity of women's basketball in the city.
The team is coming. Backed by those who know the importance of making sure the team has a red carpet rolled out to welcome them.
The next four years are a crucial window to document the full arc of this story.
where it came from,
who built it,
what it cost them,
and what it gave back.
The spotlight will inevitably arrive and the narrative will be shaped.
THE INVITATION.
The story is already being told. The archive is already taking shape. And we are ready to go back for more!
Every contribution, at whatever level feels right, puts us on the ground in Philadelphia. This will allow us to spend time doing intentional research and keeps us connected with the community that makes this archive real.
It keeps the work moving, ensures that every voice that deserves a part in this story gets one, and provides us with the opportunity to give Philly legends their flowers.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Subject Interviews & Research Coordination
Costs $18,000
Scheduling, coordinating, and filming the next phase of in-depth interviews with Philadelphia women's basketball legends, coaches, players,
Institutional Archive Access
Costs $15,000
Access and licensing fees for university libraries, historical societies, and sports archives — including digitization of materials that hav
On-the-Ground Production in Philadelphia
Costs $12,000
Travel, transportation, and accommodations for multiple production trips to Philadelphia. This story cannot be told remotely.
Independent & Family Archive Access
Costs $8,000
These independent archives often hold the most intimate and irreplaceable documentation of the game's history. We believe people should be c
Community Presence & Engagement
Costs $7,000
The archive stays living because we stay connected to the people and moments that keep the game moving forward.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Can't Retire is a women’s basketball-focused content and community collective dedicated to unearthing, amplifying, and preserving the untold stories of women's basketball.
Founded by filmmaker and creative director Melanie Page, Can't Retire began as a documentary project; a love story for basketball told through the players, coaches, and communities of the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region. It quickly became an award winning documentary and received an outpouring from audiences across the country who had never seen their relationship with the sport reflected back to them so honestly. Even after its initial debut, Can't Retire From This: DMV has left a lasting impression on anyone who has seen it. It became abundantly clear that this was not a one and done documentary. It was the beginning of a movement.
Today, Can't Retire operates as a collective of filmmakers, strategists, educators, nonprofit professionals, and cultural architects. We work at the intersection of narrative, brand, and community while partnering with institutions, brands, nonprofits, and distribution platforms to ensure that the history of women's basketball reaches the widest possible audience, in the most culturally resonant way possible.
Our work spans original documentary production, live event design and activation, branded content, youth and community programming, and strategic partnerships with media platforms and distribution networks. Everything we build is grounded in our core ethos: lift as you climb. We are as committed to amplifying emerging voices as we are to honoring the legends because the health and longevity of the sport depends on both.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
It was 2020. The world had stopped. And filmmaker, Melanie Page went home to the DMV.
In a conversation with some of the young players her mom coached, Melanie was shocked to learn how uninformed and unaware they were. How could they not know the legendary Nikki McCray who made history as the first player signed to the Washington Mystics, right there in their community? How did they not know the names of the legends like Rebekkah Brunson, Penny Moore, Jonquel Jones, Jasmine Thomas, Marissa Coleman and many more who played on the courts and walked the halls of their very own schools?
Something needed to be done.
When it came to women’s basketball history and the hoopers from the DMV who had shaped her world, the lack of access to their stories was unacceptable. Page needed to sit with these legends, hear their stories, and share that knowledge with the younger players who looked up to her in the same way she looked up to them.
A few conversations turned into 58 interviews. Fifty-eight of the most notable players and industry professionals who call DC, Maryland, and Virginia home.
And somewhere in those conversations, Melanie found her purpose.
The award-winning Can't Retire From This: DMV tells the love story of women's basketball, its deep roots in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia community, and all the places that love for the game took them.
One of the central voices in the DMV film is Coach Diane Richardson known to everyone in the game as the Queen of the DMV.
When we checked back in with Coach Rich about where she was on her journey, she didn't hesitate.
She took us straight to Philadelphia.
Coach Rich wasn't going to let us come to Philly without making sure we met the right people. Enter Yolanda Laney and Marilyn Stephens; two legends who gave us an entire day and reminded us of everything we learned in the DMV. It was 2020 deja vu, 5 years later in 2025.
Philadelphia's hoopers had much more of their story ready and waiting to be told.
And just like that, the next chapter was written.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia. The love letter to Philadelphia women's basketball.
YOU CAN'T TELL THE STORY OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONESTLY WITHOUT PHILADELPHIA AT THE CENTER.
The players, the coaches, and the culture that formed here spread everywhere else. Philadelphia is a Mecca of women's basketball. And most of that story has never been formally documented.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia tells the story of women's basketball through the eyes of the city, peeling back the layers of grit and tough love to get to the root of the experiences and the people who paved the way for everything we're seeing today.
We didn't just come for the legends. We came for the whole community.
IN ONE TRIP TO PHILLY, WE FOUND THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING
Two days.
Well really… 36 hours.
9 interviews.
We sat with some of the most significant voices in Philadelphia women's basketball history.
Yolanda Laney. Marilyn Stephens. Coach Diane Richardson. Jen Leary, founder of The Stoop Pigeon by Watch Party PHL. Ashley Lunkenheimer of The Philadelphia Sisters. Jeannine Kayembe Oro, historian and founder of the Black Women's Basketball Museum.
We headed back to Philadelphia 30 days later for The Assist. A Can't Retire Project live activation where Marilyn Stephens and Lynn Arturi-Chiavaro of the Philadelphia Fox sat across from the Temple University women's basketball team seated in the first two rows, and spoke directly to them.
About what it cost. About what it gave back. About what those young women in front of them were inheriting without knowing it.
The Assist also featured a screening of CRFT: DMV and the CRFT: Philly teaser. After the screenings, FOX29 sports anchor Breland Moore moderated a talkback with Coach Rich and Yolanda Laney. In that conversation, in that room, Yolanda Laney announced her pledge to make this documentary possible. And Coach Rich immediately followed suit to match that contribution.
It was not a transaction. It was a passing of the torch, in public, in front of the next generation.
PHILADELPHIA IS READY.
Look at what just happened.
The Golden State Valkyries, the most recent WNBA expansion team, sold out every single home game in their first season and made the playoffs as a brand new program.
The Unrivaled Philadelphia weekend sold out Xfinity Mobile Arena with a record-breaking 21,490 attendees. In January 2026, notable Philly Jawns, Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud came home to a crowd that showed exactly the kind of love and support this city is made of.
The most recent chapter of the women's basketball love story is already being written by Philly women carrying the torch that was handed to them by the legends we are documenting right now. The Can't Retire Project is building the bridge between those two worlds.
Past and present. Legacy and future. The archive that connects all of it.
Can't Retire From This: Philadelphia is a love letter.
A living archive built...
IN community
WITH community.
FOR every girl in Philadelphia who will ever pick up a basketball.
HONORING the women who paved the way for them.
Capturing the interconnectedness of the women in this city.
Ultimately, this film will show the world exactly what hoopers mean when they say:
"I Can't Retire From This"
WHAT DOES THIS PHASE FUND?
Our 36 hours was just the beginning.
We celebrated the start of this love letter to Philly with The Assist: Philly during Unrivaled Philadelphia weekend. The energy in that room confirmed everything we already knew.
Phase 1 is dedicated entirely to Research & Development. We have only begun to scratch the surface of this story, and the archive is gradually taking shape. To do this the right way, we need to go deeper.
We need to return to Philadelphia for more conversations to unearth the endless stories to be shared and reach even more voices than we found in our first 36 hours.
Philadelphia is home to some of the best libraries, institutional archives, and carefully documented history in the country. Our research and archival partnership with the Black Women's Basketball Museum connects us to the Charles L. Blockson Collection at Temple University and other community archives, we have access to photographs, programs, recordings, and memorabilia that have never been digitized and exist nowhere else.
There are private collections in this community that have been preserved by families for decades, waiting for someone to come and ask about them the right way. The Can’t Retire Project is answering that call to action.
Most of all, this phase gives us the opportunity to be present. We can't wait to spend time in vibrant community spaces like Philadelphia Youth Basketball's Sixth Man Center, visit a Skilladelphia summer camp, step in the gymnasium at Dobbins Tech, or be there for the grand opening of The Stoop by Watch Party PHL. That presence is what makes the difference between a documentary and a living archive.
THE NEXT FOUR YEARS ARE A RUNWAY.
By 2030, Philadelphia will have its own WNBA franchise. The Philadelphia Sisters have put in the work to create a network of supporters already invested in the longevity of women's basketball in the city.
The team is coming. Backed by those who know the importance of making sure the team has a red carpet rolled out to welcome them.
The next four years are a crucial window to document the full arc of this story.
where it came from,
who built it,
what it cost them,
and what it gave back.
The spotlight will inevitably arrive and the narrative will be shaped.
THE INVITATION.
The story is already being told. The archive is already taking shape. And we are ready to go back for more!
Every contribution, at whatever level feels right, puts us on the ground in Philadelphia. This will allow us to spend time doing intentional research and keeps us connected with the community that makes this archive real.
It keeps the work moving, ensures that every voice that deserves a part in this story gets one, and provides us with the opportunity to give Philly legends their flowers.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Subject Interviews & Research Coordination
Costs $18,000
Scheduling, coordinating, and filming the next phase of in-depth interviews with Philadelphia women's basketball legends, coaches, players,
Institutional Archive Access
Costs $15,000
Access and licensing fees for university libraries, historical societies, and sports archives — including digitization of materials that hav
On-the-Ground Production in Philadelphia
Costs $12,000
Travel, transportation, and accommodations for multiple production trips to Philadelphia. This story cannot be told remotely.
Independent & Family Archive Access
Costs $8,000
These independent archives often hold the most intimate and irreplaceable documentation of the game's history. We believe people should be c
Community Presence & Engagement
Costs $7,000
The archive stays living because we stay connected to the people and moments that keep the game moving forward.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Can't Retire is a women’s basketball-focused content and community collective dedicated to unearthing, amplifying, and preserving the untold stories of women's basketball.
Founded by filmmaker and creative director Melanie Page, Can't Retire began as a documentary project; a love story for basketball told through the players, coaches, and communities of the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region. It quickly became an award winning documentary and received an outpouring from audiences across the country who had never seen their relationship with the sport reflected back to them so honestly. Even after its initial debut, Can't Retire From This: DMV has left a lasting impression on anyone who has seen it. It became abundantly clear that this was not a one and done documentary. It was the beginning of a movement.
Today, Can't Retire operates as a collective of filmmakers, strategists, educators, nonprofit professionals, and cultural architects. We work at the intersection of narrative, brand, and community while partnering with institutions, brands, nonprofits, and distribution platforms to ensure that the history of women's basketball reaches the widest possible audience, in the most culturally resonant way possible.
Our work spans original documentary production, live event design and activation, branded content, youth and community programming, and strategic partnerships with media platforms and distribution networks. Everything we build is grounded in our core ethos: lift as you climb. We are as committed to amplifying emerging voices as we are to honoring the legends because the health and longevity of the sport depends on both.