Abby Bishop opens up on adopting her niece, basketball career, basketball news
Australian basketball star Abby Bishop has opened up on her adoption journey, a decision she made in the blink of an eye.
Bishop was thrown into the role of becoming a parent when her sister Chloe gave birth and wasn’t capable of raising the child.
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With Department of Human Services officers nearby, Bishop refused to allow her niece to be taken into foster care and took on the role of raising the child.
“I still remember the moment there were two DHS officers standing there with clipboards — I said, ‘No, she’s not going to foster care, she’s coming with me’, I absolutely did not think twice, she’s family,” Bishop told the Herald Sun.
“I had nothing for a baby, literally had to go to Kmart and grab bottles and I bought a cheap pram and some blankets and clothes and nappies.
“Mum used to own a motel in Darwin, so I got a room for free and here I was by myself in a hotel with a two-day-old.”
Read the full exclusive interview on the Herald Sun here
The moment came when Bishop was in the prime of her career and the new addition into her life threw everything she loved into a spin.
With Zala by her side the pair travelled the world together, but support wasn’t being thrown her way by Basketball Australia.
The governing body was the opposite, they left Bishop out in the cold and refused to allow Zala near the team.
It was those hurdles that ultimately led her to walk away from the game.
“Zala wasn’t allowed to be anywhere, near anything while I was with the Opals,” Bishop said.
“That was really disturbing. It blew my mind to the point where I made a stand and decided to quit.
“I couldn’t get my mind around why Basketball Australia wouldn’t support me and help me; for years, basketball was my life.”
Her defiant stance however saw Basketball Australia enact change and allow provisions for players with children.
The biggest challenge however had nothing to do with basketball, it came one day after school when Zala got into the car.
Zala, now 10, was told about her upbringing thanks to a kid at her school who had done some googling on Bishop.
“One day, I picked her up from school and she said ‘Mum, you’re not my real mum, one of the kids in class told me that you’re my Auntie’,” Bishop said.
The next day the whole story came out with Bishop telling Zala everything about her upbringing and how she came to be her guardian.
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“She asked a couple of questions and then that’s it, she hasn’t really brought it up again with me.
“I’m just mum and I think she’s only said once ‘You’re not my real mum’ when she was in trouble.
“I’m glad it happened like that now. It didn’t change things between us at all and it allowed me to tell her the whole story.”
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