When my coach first introduced a spin move to me three years ago at basketball practice, I was excited to try it out. I asked him to watch and tell me what he thought. Full of confidence, I tried my best and the first thing he said was: “You’re doing a girl’s spin move.” Confused, I asked for an explanation. In response, he did the move correctly, now saying: “See? That was a boy’s spin move.” Furious, I respectfully asked him why he associated girls with doing the wrong move and boys with doing it right. Instead of engaging with me, my coach dismissed me, choosing not to see anything wrong with his mentality. 

Even though this incident was more than three years ago, it stuck with me because I can clearly remember how the comment hurt my self esteem and my frustration with being shut down from even having a conversation. After that session, I spent hours agonizing over the incident and how I had left feeling like I hadn’t been able to truly speak up for myself.

One of my favorite parts of playing basketball is being able to play with so many different people. However, in my experience, the moment I step foot on the court I am not viewed equally in the eyes of any of the boys I play with. They would barely guard me on defense, but it didn’t matter because my own teammates couldn’t fathom the idea of giving the ball up to a girl.  

The road to achieving complete equality in sports is long and uphill. Although the divide between mens and womens athletics isn’t intentional, long standing stereotypes often mean that female athletes are not treated equally.

To all the girls out there, you belong on the court just as much as they do.

To all of the boys, D up and pass us the ball!!