As a female athlete, the tired arguments to belittle women’s accomplishments in sports are noise of a broken record. It seems that every victory for a hardworking woman is countered by some reason a man could do it better. The way the world views women’s sports sickens me, but my experience playing sports at South has been a refreshing change and has uplifted me throughout my athletic journey. South Athletics fosters a positive and, most importantly, equal environment for girls’ and boys’ sports.
Completely independent of gender, South has an excellent media network ensuring teams and individual athletes get the appreciation they deserve. From daily shout outs on the announcements to the nearly instant post game reports on the Grosse Pointe South Athletics social media, our athletic department celebrates each team’s accomplishments and increases interest in the student body.
While the platforms controlled directly by our athletic department do a stellar job communicating significant events in South’s sports, it will not stop people from bringing up the shortcomings of Devil’s Den. Even though I too feel frustrated to see an overwhelming majority of posts for boys’ sports. However, what people fail to understand is that whether or not there is an Instagram post displaying start times and a theme, no one is going to drive an hour to watch a girls cross country meet. This has nothing to do with it being a girls sport, but more so that people aren’t interested. Instead of pointing the blame at people for girls’ sports being under-recognized, consider that by not showing up, you too are part of the problem.
On a more positive note, not only does South show equal appreciation to girls sports, but in many ways provides girls with more opportunities. In fact, South actually offers more girls sports than boys. This offers more chances for girls to display their athletic abilities and gain well deserved recognition. South girls have made use of this opportunity with over half of the South athletes who signed to play collegiate sports in the past three years being girls.
It should also be noted that beyond South, the entire world is practically rooting against women’s sports. According to the University of British Columbia, women’s sports only account for a mere 10 to 15 percent of broadcasting time from the most prominent sports media companies in the US and Europe. Though this is no excuse for women in sports to be looked past in any way, South Athletics efforts to maintain anywhere close to equality in sports, shows that as a community we are a step ahead when it comes to valuing our girls’ sports.
