The Rise of Women In Sport

Young girls grow up dreaming of becoming a professional athlete or a coach, sometimes in sports that may not typically be offered to girls. When they’re young, they don’t quite understand that women in sports have a rough go of it. If they want to follow their dreams, they’ll have to overcome significant obstacles. Luckily for them, there are countless women paving the way for future generations right now.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where the majority still believe sports are a man’s world. Until recently, the thought of women in sports was a mere dream. Women’s soccer, specifically, was once banned for 50 years. Today, however, women are proving there should be no question that a woman can play or coach a “man’s” sport. Though we have a long way to go to equality, the immense amount of change that has occurred is a huge step in the movement.

Now, the rise of women in sports is still a work in progress. With the progression of women crossing over into male-dominated sports, there are still inequalities that clearly show where women stand in the sports environment. Recently, the NCAA has shown its true colors after photos of the March Madness Women’s Basketball weight room, if you can even call it a weight room, surfaced online.

Women’s @NCAA bubble weight room vs Men’s weight room… thought this was a joke. WTF is this?!?
To all the women playing in the @marchmadness tournament, keep grinding! pic.twitter.com/K04KTv6s46

— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) March 18, 2021

As all collegiate athletes are not compensated to play and participate in the same tournaments and conferences, the NCAA dropped the ball big time. They stiffed these hardworking, high-level female athletes from being able to prepare for the biggest games of their college career. As always, the NCAA made sure they did not fall short for the men’s side; they provided them a fully-equipped gym, a buffet of food, and an abundance of March Madness gifts. As proven by the countless people who voiced their outrage on social media, the NCAA dug itself into quite a deep hole. These athletes work their entire careers to get to this moment and to be given a few dumbbells and an unapologetic response from the NCAA is, quite honestly, unforgivable.

While the NCAA scandal is just one in a long, long, history of crimes against women in sports, we’d be remiss to not recognize the incredible women who have broken down the barriers in front of them. Sarah Fuller became the first female kicker to score in a power 5 conference game. Kim Ng became the first female general manager in baseball. Becky Hammon is a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach and Katie Sowers was the first female coach in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl. And the list goes on. We have women reffing the top men’s leagues in the world, commentating on games broadcast to national and international audiences, and coaching at all levels of men’s and women’s sports.

Though women have made great strides in this male-dominated industry, there’s still a long way to go. Megan Rapinoe and Midge Purce’s trip to the White House for Equal Pay Day is even more evidence of that. As the USWNT’s fight for equal pay continues, they’re serving as leaders of an even larger movement. It seems like, right now, the fight for equality hinges on the outcome of this battle.

So, how do we get to a place of true equality? Midge Purce put it perfectly during her visit to the White House:

You would never expect a flower to bloom without water. But women in sport who have been denied water, sunlight, and soil are somehow expected to blossom. Invest in women, then let’s talk again when you see the return.

There you have it. Invest in women. Watch women’s sports. Celebrate the women who break those barriers. Let women in sports rise.

Featured Image by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Image

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