This 29-year-old, 5'9 former Stanford volleyball setter proves to be an agent of change for women in sports - at least that's what SF Chronicle says. And I actually agree.
While serving as the captain of Standford's 1997 National Championship volleyball squad, Kagawa received her BA in political science. Later she would return to her alma mater and earn an MA in sociology.
Kagawa's passion for sports is evident, but her business savvy and go-get 'em attitude is what makes this senior director of player management at BDA Sports Management a hot comodity among WNBA players, like friend an client Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury).
Photo courtesy of WNBA.com
I'm about a year shy under Kagawa in age, and she has certainly inspired me as a woman with high career hopes. What makes Ms. Kagawa's story most compelling is her focus on social and community activism. Kagawa has been involved in many social justice projects, like AIDS advocacy program Until There's A Cure with her clients and other young athletes in the SF Bay area.
For more information about Kagawa's fellowship program in SF, Standford Athletes & Kids United (SAKU), vitist Stanford's athletic page
CARE - a non profit organization whose mission is to mission is "to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility" - has partnered up with Nike to help promote women's sports in Rwanda.
The idea is to encourage sport in play in a country largely impacted by poverty. Women of Rwanda can become empowered and build necessary communication skils through sport. Other partners in this effort include Women Win, and CARE ambassador Sheila Johnson, the President of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)- and the FIRST ever African-American female to own a professional sports team.
I found a video on YouTube made by Rwanda women, some of whom are disabled, and who coach other Rwandan women in various sports. Though this video is not directly related to the program sponsored by CARE and Nike, you'll find it just as inspiring to watch these women building strong coalitions through sport and play.
So many great stories have been surfacing recently about the work individuals and organizations are doing in various African countries.
Even more recently in Johannesburg, South Africa, former WNBA player Jennifer Azzi leads a basketball clinic for young girls. Azzi not only helps the girls understand basketball fundamentals, but she also helps these young women understand the importance of "owning your own body and being healthy."
JENNIFER AZZI (CENTER)
In a continent devastated by HIV/AIDS epidemics, Azzi, along with Basketball Without Borders and Hoops 4 Hope, work together to encourage educational awareness and prevention through sports activities.
[Check out this YouTube video spotlighting Hoops 4 Hope and its founder, Mark Crandall]
Trying to combat these epidemics through sports and play is a lofty task, particularly since many of the youth in various African countries may never know what it's like to be a professional athlete – even with strong potential.
Yet still, Azzi contends that "these girls are going to be the leaders and they have to know how to look after themselves."
The program, initiated by the NBA, seems to be working. For the first time, young women like Olive Tshilomba, a 10th-grader from Marysville College in Johannesburg – says she loves basketball even more than she did before.
"I never thought I'd learn so much about life from basketball," she says. "They are trying to link sports with the way we feel about ourselves, and make sure everyone has a part in life. We're worth something."
Obviously, Basketball Without Borders is helping to inspire a new generation of African youth throughout the continent.
By now, I’m sure many of you have already seen and/or heard about the latest WNBA brawl between L.A. Sparks, Candace Parker and Detroit Shock’s Plenette Pierson. Richard originally posted about the incident a few days ago.
Well, now that the dust has settled – somewhat – folks in the media are actually arguing that the fight between Parker and Pierson helped bring more attention and people (namely men) to the WNBA.
Now I’m certainly down for bringing more attention to the WNBA – (a pro sport I’ve always aspired to participate in) - but at what cost? I personally don’t care how many people (women and/or men) become more “intrigued” by the sport, fighting to the point of an all-out brawl is simply not a good look.
Granted, I think a scuffle here and a scramble there is part of the game. I remember when I was playing ball back in high school; I certainly contributed to a few scuffles (okay, maybe that's an understatement, they use to call me Charles Barkley). Admittedly, I was and have always been extremely competitive on the court. However, I'm mostly concerned with why folks, who previously didn’t care much about the WNBA, are now tuning in. Is it just to see, and I quote, “chicks fighting” or does this brawl enable folks to perpetuate horrible stereotypes about female athletes – namely, ‘black’ female athletes (the racial epithet “angry black female” comes to mind)?
To me, this situation speaks to a larger social calamity that concerns our perceptions of gender performance within sports. That is, when we see male athletes fight, its just par for the course, because, well, that’s what guys do, right? (Obviously, SO wrong). But when we see female athletes fight, this moment tends to get exploited, as in, ‘it’s good for business’ and satisfies some warped fantasy about women fighting. On the flip side, female athletes who fight in a mainstream sport might be condemned by society for not acting “lady like.” (The adage of being “caught between a rock and a hard place” for female athletes never took on such a profound significance as it does in this case).
Some observers argue that this might be a moment where we consider women athletes developing their own feminine aesthetic, or style of play. But why even entertain this idea of developing a feminine aesthetic in sports - what does that even mean??
For me, it all goes back to the way we think and understand competition and gender performance. If we lived in a society where acting out in competition wasn’t deemed a “male thing” then perhaps we wouldn’t have to confront negative stereotypes about female athletes in the first place. As a former athlete, I know fights can occur between components, and unfortunately these fights don’t always end up without someone getting seriously injured. (Incidentally, Cheryl Ford who was also involved in Tuesday night’s brawl is out for the season with a torn ACL). I believe early on I was taught that, in order to win, I had to be tough and fight. Arguably (and unfortunately), most athletes, female and male, are taught that competition means winning and defending our pride, by any means necessary - heck, that’s a culturally accepted ideal, just look at how our President deals with foreign policy!
But I digress.
The fight between Parker and Pierson perhaps proves that the problem we confront culturally with sports lies in our understanding of competition and gender performance. So if we begin to shift our ways of thinking about competition and gender performance in sports, maybe, just maybe, we won’t have to deal with headlines like "Women Who Can Dunk and Duel [like a man]" and “Bad Girls” - no, not the trainwreck of a reality show - the culturally accepted, and disturbing, idea.
There’s no doubt that race or religion is the way to go if you’re in the mood to stir up a bit of controversy. After that, there’s gender equality in sports, which is a non-story when compared to the aforementioned lightening rods. Having said that, I couldn’t help but wake up this morning wondering why female athletes aren’t appreciated. By now you’ve all seen footage of last night’s altercation between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Detroit Shock. Mind you, I’ve witnessed legitimate in-game brawls, and to me, this really should’ve been a non-story. In fact, the headline should’ve focused on the fact that L.A. beat Detroit. It should’ve reported that they finally snapped a five-game road losing streak, or that they won for just the fourth time in their last 11 games. Unfortunately, none of that happened. Worse than that, I actually saw a couple of recaps that showed the “fight” without telling the audience who won the game. Seriously people, how’s that fair? I’d understand that approach if this were like the last altercation in Auburn Hills, when fans and players alike were going at it, but that’s it. Sadly, this is the WNBA, and major media outlets just don’t care. Think about it. Unless you know where to look, it’s only discussed when someone dunks the ball, or when a “fight” breaks out. Mind you, I’m not saying that ESPN should lead off SportsCenter with WNBA recaps, but I’m pretty sure there’s room to fit in some highlights that aren’t dunks, isn’t there? It’d be naïve to envision a landscape where men and women’s sports are ever on the same page, but the current level of inequality is mind-boggling. Worse than that, it’s imbalanced coverage like that of last night’s “fight” that worries me the most, because it’s impossible to change mindsets without some help from the major media outlets. As an experiment of sorts, I took a trip to the playground courts to see how willing adolescent males were to play basketball with females of the same age. In short, they scoffed at the idea of a “girl” playing on the same court. However, after a bit of coaxing on my part, they finally let the girl I brought with me play, and yeah…she totally schooled them! In short, gender equality shouldn’t be swept under the rug like an issue that doesn’t exist. The salaries and popularity will never be on the same page, but should that necessarily translate to female sports such as the WNBA being discussed in a slapstick style? I’ve covered the current crop of WNBA rookies, like Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles since they were in high school, so for anyone to tell me that women aren’t as athletic as men is completely unfounded and ridiculous. Next time you’ve got a chance to shoot some hoops with a girl, don’t mock the idea…she might teach you a few things. And the same goes for any other sport. I know the focus here was basketball, but you’d be amazed at how many different sports women are involved in that ESPN never talks about. I guess scrabble and cup stacking contests are more important, right?
