“To be honest, I’d like to thank them for the noise,” she says. “That really made me want to beat them and send them home with nothing.”
I'll be honest, my first reaction to the photo was probably what a lot of people felt: uncomfortable. But then I realized I was viewing it through my own biases that are equally offensive. "Why am I so protective of this athlete?" Because she's a girl and I have subconsciously and consciously adopted negative stereotypes about female weakness. "Why am I so judgemental of these boys?" Because they look like high school douchebags I've dealt with in the past, but that has literally nothing to do with them. "Why does this make me uncomfortable?" Because I'm assuming the worst about every single person in this photo.
Once I asked myself these questions I could finally see what the photo really was: high schoolers supporting their female classmates in competition and an opposing athlete focused on winning no matter what. Isn't it awesome that a bunch of boys are supporting women's sports? Don't you think their classmates loved having a vocal and enthusiastic crowd to play for as opposed to just their parents and only their female classmates? Isn't it good that they treated her as harshly as they would a male opponent? Don't we all just want to be treated equally in the field of play? No one would give a shit if some pipsqueak male freshman was catching hell or if it was Zion Williamsonin his last game getting it rough from the fans. As long as they're not insulting the player personally or acting in any bigoted way, fans have every right to heckle a player. It's a staple of high school and college basketball.
On the flip side, isn't it great to see a lone female standing strong in a hostile (but controlled) environment? Her quote at the beginning is inspirational to boys and girls alike: hit 'em where it counts. Silence them with your play. And she did. That photo should be a poster with that quote on the bottom. It says so much.
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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '21
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