The Influence of Ann Meyers in Woman in Sports Jasmine Gutierrez California State University, Bakersfield As difficult as it could have been for a woman to begin a career in a competitive sport back in the mid 1900s, Ann Meyers made sure to attain her dream of being a basketball player. Many women in the 1900s suffered a lot from discrimination, doubts and rights. Before Title IX passed, it was only right for women to stay at home and take care of their families. On the other hand, Ann grew up in San Diego with a family who taught her that she could do the same as her older brothers and play whatever sport she desired. Even as a young child, she was never interested in fashion; she lived and died for sports. Later …show more content…
The more that everyone tried to convince her to not try out, the more determined she was to do it. Ann knew that her potential of playing at men’s level basketball would open new lead women’s basketball to new opportunities. Ann was more than convinced that if there was ever going to be a woman to be first in the NBA, it was she. The press was not convinced about this decision, most thought she would not pull through and that it was all just a publicity scene. Ann started conditioning with her brother three weeks before trials; she trained hard all day everyday. The three-day training camp began in September, everyone realized that she was an excellent player, but all team player agreed that she did not deserve the chance to be there. After the first afternoon scrimmage, a lot of reporters came out to interview her. There were a lot of negative comments against her, yet she ignored them. After the three days of trial, she waited for a response, but never heard anything about her not making the team, so she knew she was going stay with the NBA. Ann comes to find out that she was not recruited as a team member, but as a broadcast for the Pacers games. She ended up signed with William Morris and did a seven-up commercial with Magic Johnson and between commercials she sat in a booth broadcasting NBA Pacers games. Unlike many women, she began to make appearances in media, which got her recognition. Little by little, she started to break the norms of woman being recognized in
Jay Weiner ’s essay “How to Take Back Sports” used an idea to deprofessoinalize college and high school sports, which focused on three topics. I disagree with Jay Weiner’s idea to deprofessionalize sports that included; taking away scholarships, local news coverage, and athletes are introduced to a privilege at a young age. If you didn’t offer a scholarship to play a sport, you wouldn’t have that sport anymore.
“I will never be satisfied!” Many athletes may have heard this statement once or twice in their athletic careers from their coaches, but to hear it come from a parent is very unexpected. In the documentary Trophy Kids, follows the story of five families whose life is centered on their child’s success in sports. It goes behind the scenes of what each of the parent’s strategies are in order to push their child to the next level of becoming the next all-star athlete.
“Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity” (Overview of Title IX). In other words, this law says that you cannot prevent a woman from participating in a sport based on her sex. The three sports that women participated in before this law was passed were golf, bowling and gymnastics: none of them very popular (Frantz). Women were looked down upon for trying to do something that was out-of-the-ordinary for their gender. It seems like women have always been seen as the caregivers in the family.
In the movie “A League of Their Own”, one can see how the more sexist views of the culture in the 1940s and 50s in America was present in the Girls Professional Baseball League. “A League of Their Own” is a movie about what was once the “All-American Girls Professional Baseball League” which was formed when the young men were sent over to serve in World War II. One of the most obvious cultural views that this movie shows is the feminizing of the baseball players to make them “more acceptable and women like”. Unlike men’s uniforms, that include a full shirt and pants, they were to wear skirts that were very short, too short to play baseball in comfortably. This alone shows how this league was just as much about show as it was about the women’s talent.
There are many little boys and girls who want to grow up and be professional athletes. They have hopes and dreams and put in the hard work and effort to achieve them. What they do not know is how different their lives are if they make it in this profession. While the men are able to live pretty comfortably, the women usually struggle to make a living, and they most often live with other teammates or family to help split the bills. They are often “forced” to play all year round, even overseas.
As I first inhaled, my parents had exhaled the name they decided on: Abbey Rose, after the Beatles’ famous album “Abbey Road”. As I began to create my personality as Abbey, my parents noticed something was off about how I responded to this label. It rolled off the tongue - still, it hung in the air with a hopeless weight to it. Like a message in a bottle, out in the open ocean: it has a destination, yet no perseverance to get there.
In the letter Reagan states “Stories like yours are encouraging and inspiring, for it is hardworking, dedicated individuals like you who make this nation great.” Nothing illustrates how monumental her contributions to the sport of women’s basketball were more then recognition from the president
Ever since its debut by gym teacher Dr. James Naismith in 1891 basketball has become a widely popularized team sport for both men and women across the nation. Though enjoyed by both men and women, women have struggled to attain the same respect in the sport as men, even though the women at the University of California had their first extramural game in 1892. The same trend continues in the NBA, National Basketball Association, and WNBA, Women’s National Basketball. The NBA started 70 years ago in 1946 while the WNBA began 20 years ago in 1996. The NBA continues to gain popularity, while the WNBA struggles to still be known.
One of my first question is why does the team not want to accept the girl for who she is and how great of a basketball player she really is. I don’t get why they have to look at her like she’s the one that’s holding the team back when she’s one of the better players on the team. That is just one of my many questions I have about the basketballs team. My second question is why does the coach have to gibe at the team and, also have to be so up tight about every thing that happens on the court. “F*** it ill tell her she not coming when we get there” (Lupica 41).
“I wonder how many times a Tom Brady is asked about how handsome he is, or J.J. Watt... it’s something that us female athletes have to deal with all the time,”(Hatch.) quoted by the famous Delle Donne of the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) Chicago Sky. Delle Donne is one of the many female athletes, who endure sexism in sports today. Today in society, people still struggle with the idea of females being involved in sports.
Ellen Wilkinson (1891–1947) was a British Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow from 1935 to 1947 and Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. In 1936 she was a leader of the Jarrow March, an iconic symbol of 1930s unemployment and impoverishment. On graduating from the University of Manchester in 1913, Wilkinson worked mainly as a trade union official, and was briefly a member of the British Communist Party before becoming Labour MP for Middlesbrough East in 1924. After losing her seat in the 1931 general election she worked as a writer and journalist before resuming her parliamentary career in 1935. A strong advocate for the Republican faction in the Spanish Civil War, she made several visits to the battle