You Go, Girls!

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Mom was a gym teacher in my home state of Pennsylvania. Dad's Aunt Grace (1920–1934) was an athlete who hid her pains to play basketball. Her appendix burst. She was only fourteen. My great-grandparents found Aspirin hidden in her books after she passed. In loving memory of both: Thank you University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), for FINALLY coming to your senses—for the sake of Anna Kalandadze, Kayla Fu, Virginia Burns, and every other woman whose erased records are finally being set right. Be who you are—be who you want to be, but don't do it at the expense of erasing others in the process. Think about what women and girls were still having to do for their athletics in the 1930s. They had no Title IX. No scholarships. No safety nets. Many played hurt, in silence, because there were no trainers, no support, and no one who cared, except those girls and women, their coaches, and a few friends and family members. My Aunt Grace wasn’t alone—there were girls taping ankles with rags, hiding aspirin in their bookbags, and collapsing off the court with no recognition. They played for pride, not headlines. So when we talk about fairness today, don’t erase them. Don’t forget what it cost just to step on the court for the sake of Peggy Fleming, Mary Lou Retton—and Riley Gaines, who showed us what strength and grace look like today. Who is your favorite female athlete—living or deceased—and why?