WNBA, My Daughter, and Equality… and a Sweepstakes

Watching sports with my daughter is different than watching sports with my son. I admit that it shouldn’t be, but it is. When I watch let’s say a basketball game with my son, we get caught up in the excitement of the game and root for our favorites and cheer at the opposing team’s failures. When I watch with my daughter, though, somehow I get caught up in giving her a history lesson on women’s sports and trying to convince her that she needs to work harder in every area of her life.

 Why?

Because the inequalities between women and men are glaring when viewed through the sports lens. Women’s sports continue to play second fiddle to men’s. And in everyday life, women earn 77 cents for every dollar that men make. But I want my daughter to be the “go to” person. I don’t want her to be on the sidelines cheering the men on, whether it be in the business field or the sports field. I want my daughter to be the one that everyone hopes will hit the big shot. I want her to have the same opportunities that her two brothers have. I want her to be treated equally and paid equally.

I have been a big fan of the WNBA for those reasons. I want the women’s game to be appreciated on the same level as the men’s. After a promising start, the league’s momentum slowed down. But now it seems like talent wise, the WNBA is hitting a boom. Not only is there a lot of talent, but marketable personalities are also flourishing.

When I was invited to attend a Dads and Daughters day at a New York Liberty game, I said yes without even checking my calendar. I wanted to give my daughter the gift of seeing amazing athletes that were once little girls, just like her. And my daughter quickly became fascinated with one of the players, Cappie Poindexter. The tattooed-covered scoring machine put on a show the day we went and my daughter couldn’t wait to learn to dribble like her new hero. (The reason she opted to dribble like a pro and not shoot like a pro is that my daughter is very petite and can’t quite hit the rim yet.)

I hope that the athletes playing for the New York Liberty and the WNBA will continue to inspire my daughter (and my sons too) to persevere and push through glass ceilings and to avoid the temptation to stand by and let others receive all the opportunity and glory.

As if you need more incentives to watch the New York Liberty play, there is currently a “We stand for Women” sweepstakes running where fans can win concert tickets and future Liberty tickets. The contest runs through August 17^th. For more information on this contest and the tickets, click here.

Another version of this post can be found on the NYC Dad’s Group page.

 

Disclaimer: I received tickets to attend the game with my daughter. Although I was given tickets, the ideas within this post are my own and I strongly stand by them.

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