IT'S CRAZY TO THINK THAT we are celebrating 50 years of Title IX, and I am happy to say that I am a product of Title IX. I was born in 1971, a year before Title IX was signed into law but I still consider myself a Title IX baby. There are moments when I look back on my life and career and couldn't imagine life as a female athlete without this law.
As a young girl from Brownfield, Texas, who started playing hoops at the age of 7, basketball was life! I knew at a very early age how much I loved game and that there was something special about me and that orange ball.
I remember every time my brothers would leave to go play basketball, I would cry until my mom finally gave in and would say, "Go ahead and go, but don't come home hurt or crying."
Hurt? Crying? There's no crying in basketball! I could never get enough of being on the court. Not only did basketball teach me about competition and how to deal with different personalities, it taught me self-confidence and how to trust in myself and believe in myself at a very early age.
Oftentimes I would be the only girl playing with my brothers and the fellas, but that never deterred me from wanting to participate. I never looked at it as being wrong or weird. To me, it was normal and an opportunity to work on my game and get better; the guys challenged me every time I stepped on the court, and I gladly accepted it.
Once, I was picked for a team because the guys only had nine players and needed one more to play five-on-five. I guess they thought they were doing me a favor by letting me play because no one would guard me and they “let me shoot.” It wasn’t until the summer of my college freshman year that I finally gained their respect as a “baller.”
This story is from the July 01 - 08, 2022 (Double Issue) edition of Newsweek Europe.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 01 - 08, 2022 (Double Issue) edition of Newsweek Europe.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Ray Romano
THE MAJOR THING ABOUT NETFLIX'S NO GOOD DEED THAT APPEALED TO Ray Romano was that it was unlike anything he'd done before.
Has J.K. Rowling Won the Culture War?
After years of backlash over trans issues, the Harry Potter author has received major business backing
'This Murder Is a Symbol of the Times'
Conservatives and liberals agree on the state of the health care industry following the killing of Brian Thompson
The Defense Industry's Fight With ESG
EUROPEAN DEFENSE COMPANIES, ESPECIALLY smaller businesses, are being blocked from investment they sorely need by sustainability rules, a senior NATO official and several industry figures have said.
Nothin' Lasts Forever
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour' ends its record-breaking run..
SPY IN THE SKY
CHINA FACES ACCUSATIONS of ESPIONAGE and WEAPONIZING OUTER SPACE as it BUILDS a NEW OBSERVATORY in CHILE critics say WILL BE USED for MILITARY PURPOSES
Margo Martindale
\"WHO KNEW THAT A BARREL OF MAPLE SYRUP IS WORTH MORE THAN A barrel of oil?\"
Malala Yousafzai
\"AFGHANISTAN IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE world where girls are banned from access to education and women are limited from work.\"
In the Eyes of the Law
Jude Law is unrecognizable as an FBI agent on the trail of aneo-Naziterrorist group in real-crime drama The Order
AMERICA'S Most Responsible Companies 2025
IN THE FACE OF ISSUES LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE and wage inequality, consumers care about the impact of the businesses they interact with and companies are responding.