#the greatest sacrifices were made by the goalies!

[st-louis]

Scott, Howard. The Montreal Canadiens: Rethinking a Legend. Edited by Nicolas Moreau et al., University of Toronto Press, 2015. from Olivier Bauer’s “The Passion of the Canadiens on the Red Line”

[female-malice]

Referencing my wife Taurasi in feminist arguments isn't always the best approach because I have a significant pro-DT bias. But she is literally right about most things.

Back in the 00s, she would go on those super misogynistic sports shows just to out talk everyone on set.

One time they were like, "You say women's professional basketball is good TV. So why aren't other women watching?"

DT's answer was perfect. "They're too busy taking care of your kids and cooking your dinner."

That was the gist of it. I could dig through old forums to find the exact quote which I'm sure stung even harder.

We're all socialized to value some things and devalue others. Luckily, some parents have values that go against the grain.

My mom played on her college's first women's basketball team in the 1970s when Title IX was created. I was a little hesitant about sports, but she said "just try it for one year." I'm so glad I did.

Taurasi's dad was a pro soccer player. He couldn't teach his young daughters English, so he taught them sports. That way, they could connect with their peers despite a language and cultural barrier. Even after they learned English in school, they stayed in sports. Soccer, Basketball, and Tennis.

The Taurasis didn't have Lio Messi money. That's not the kind of pro soccer DT's dad played. He was a goalie for a tiny Argentine club before fleeing the violence of 1980s Argentina. In California, he was a working class machinist. They didn't have money laying around to fund those sports opportunities. But somehow, they made it work. The Taurasi sisters were pretty good at clinching scholarships.

Now their daughter is a millionaire, one of the greatest basketball players ever, and a pioneer for women in sports.

It's a common story to see parents making sacrifices for their male children. It's less common to hear about parents making sacrifices to support their daughters' gender nonconforming skills and careers. I think it's going to take a lot of energy like that to dig our way out of patriarchy.