How Far We've Come in Women's Sports

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Entering the second half century of Titlenine, the landmark federal law that essentially
rebirthed women's sports in this country,it seemed we'd had enough. Fifty years
of desperation was plenty, thought we. Fifty years of being laughed at by
the old chauvinists in the football officesand by natural order than the athletic director's
office. Fifty years of bare bonesbudgets, part time wages for coaches,

(00:23):
team meals at McDonald's, no trainers, no facilities, no fans. Nobody
cared. But the pioneer ladies,endowed with just as much grit as their
real life ancestors, just kept pushingone. A few few court cases,
got a little more here, alittle more there. The old football coaches
retired, then died, sometimes diedthen retired. New thinkers, fundraisers,

(00:47):
NBA's lawyers got those jobs. Theythought it unfair and put in reforms,
and the women truly started to feellike equals. And then, seemingly overnight,
the women had a new threat.The stale pay and male football chauvinist
was replaced by men who think theyare women, and by some atmospheric cyclone.

(01:07):
Some of us agreed if you thinkyour female physical evidence to the contrary,
then why not join the women's team. Enter Leah Thomas and his parade
of transgenders, boys allowed to competeagainst girls, men against women, which
to me is the most unprosecuted waveof sex abuse in history. Twenty twenty

(01:30):
two twenty twenty three would signal thebeginning of the end of women's sports dead
at fifty. But just before theeulogy began, along came a wizard on
the basketball court and a horde ofvolleyball fans. Caitlin Clark's remarkable performances in
this Springs NCUBAA tournament suddenly made women'sbasketball hip and since no guy wanted to

(01:51):
climb into the ring with her,even dudes were tuning in. Ten million
watched the championship game. Only sevencollege football games last season drew more,
and then last night, the tearsthat streamed down from Row ninety six and
Memorial Stadium as ninety two thousand ofus paid to watch a women's volleyball match

(02:12):
were easy to trace. They camefrom those who believed in the transformative power
sportscan and has had on young womenlong before anybody else. Terry Pettitt was
one of them. He was oneof the ninety two thousand coaching early Husker
volleyball. He watched his athletes toilevery day, forming into champions. Convinced

(02:32):
Nebraskans would appreciate that, he wouldschedule his home matches to coincide with the
end of a Husker football home game. As the fans filed out of the
East Stadium, Pettitt would hawk thevolleyball match on the steps of the coliseum.
Come in for free, see whatwe have, and they did.
The seed was planted. Over onehundred volleyball letter winners, including a few

(02:58):
from the earliest days, were there, yes, today and last night,
marveling at what the seed grew tobecome. The secret is out. Girls
sports, except of their apostles,has always been an afterthought for generations.
It was seen as unfeminine, unladylike. But while we easily encouraged our sons
to find wholesome sports idols, whatabout our daughters. In the middle of

(03:20):
the match last night, I calledmine. She played youth and then high
school sports. I knew my son'sidol growing up, big League picture,
Zach Grinky, But what about her? I asked her, Alexis, did
you have a female athlete who impressedyou growing up? She said no,
which left to me feeling I lether down. What if I had nurtured
her passion. I remember taking myson to football, basketball, and baseball

(03:43):
games, but what about her?I left her alone to do it on
her own. Maybe, deep downI wasn't really a believer. When the
night ended and all of us floatedout of the stadium and back home brimming,
it was Lexei Rodriguez, the delightfulHusker Liberro, who captioned the picture
perfectly. So huge for little girlsto get to see a women's sport and

(04:04):
volleyball being played on this big ofa stage and having so many people invest
into it. I think it's hugebecause when you're little like you have big
dreams and big goals, and Ithink having this to kind of look up
to is something that a lot oflittle girls will kind of keep in the
back of their mind when they're pursuingthe sport of volleyball, promising that this

(04:27):
sport is alive and well well forall young ladies. Every sport is now
alive and well