Bird's distinctive shoes. Aaron Last/Storm Photos

The statement was impossible to miss. During last night’s Storm win over Sacramento, Sue Bird donned bright yellow versions of her usual Nike Zoom Soldier III shoes to show her support for LIVESTRONG and research to fight cancer.

Bird is part of the new “It’s About You” campaign timed with Lance Armstrong competing in the Tour de France. Its theme? “Lance is just one person. He can’t fight the global cancer epidemic alone. How will you help?”

“These were specially made by Nike for Lance Amstrong,” Bird explained of her unmistakable shoes after the game. “He’s trying to win his millionth Tour de France in a row. It’s in support of that as well as Nike’s efforts to back his foundation and all the cancer stuff that they do.

“Also, a friend of mine, Michelle French – she’s local here, played soccer – this past year was diagnosed and then beat it. It’s something I support, something that’s close to me. Today being a nationally-televised game was the best time to do it.”

Check out Bird’s video for the “It’s About You” campaign, in which she discusses the importance of commitment to cancer research, at the LIVESTRONG site. Also, Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times had a more extended conversation with Bird about what cancer research means to her, especially in the wake of French (a graduate of Burien’s Kennedy High School who played for the U.S. Women’s Soccer team in the 2000 Olympics) battling cancer.

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