CO MME NT
PAGE 12 | APRIL 8 – 14, 2021
A Penny for Your Thoughts
News of Greater Falls Church By Supervisor Penny Gross
March Madness 2021 may be relegated to those who keep statistics and sports trivia for roll-out at future tourneys, but perhaps the most important result of this year’s NCAA tournament is a renewed focus on women’s basketball and, in turn, women’s sports overall. The glaring inequities about the women’s weight and training area in San Antonio may have been the catalyst for a lot of discussion and NCAA apologies last month, but apologies and lip service don’t cut it. Expeditious change is needed, now. The first NCAA men’s basketball tournament was held in Evanston, Illinois, in March 1939. The tournament was won by the Webfoots, now known as the Ducks, of the University of Oregon, who defeated Ohio State, 46 to 33. (In the spirit of full disclosure, my parents met that same year at Oregon, and I am a second generation “Duck.”) More than 30 years after that first men’s tournament, the Education Amendments of 1972 added Title IX, which protects people from discrimination, based on sex, in education programs or athletics in any educational institution that receives federal financial assistance. Title IX initiated a sea change for women’s programs, but it took another decade — 10 years! — for the NCAA to institute a women’s basketball tournament, in 1982. Women’s sports have come a long way since I was in school, when girls could play volleyball (using “girls” rules) field hockey, and tennis, but few other team sports were recognized and supported by their educational institutions (both high school and college). Title IX opened the floodgates for female athletes to pursue their chosen sports, but many barriers still exist, as exemplified by the weight and training inequities publicized by Sedona Prince, also an Oregon Duck, as she sought to work out in preparation for the Lady
Ducks’ appearance in the Sweet 16. Covid-19 often is used as an excuse/reason for not doing something, but the NCAA explanation fell flat. It shouldn’t matter whether a team is one of dozens in the preliminary rounds, or in the Final Four. An athlete is an athlete, regardless of gender; opportunities for training should be the same whether you are at the top or somewhere further down, and with similar, well-stocked facilities available to all competitors. If the NCAA truly values the athletes, rather than just the financial proceeds that accrue to the organization, it will work during the coming year to address the inequities that Ms. Prince and others pointed out so deftly. The women’s tournament showcased many talented women’s teams from across the country, and the championship game, between Stanford and Arizona (like my alma mater, Oregon, both are PAC-12 schools) was simply superb, with a one-point win by Stanford at the buzzer. The Covid-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for both amateur and professional team sports, and their many fans. Many of those challenges have been met, and overcome, by the athletes and their coaching staffs. In the spirit of never letting a crisis go to waste, they devised new approaches to training, practice, and the social interaction that is special to team sports. As the pandemic, hopefully, wanes, the NCAA and other sports organizations should take the lessons of the women’s basketball tournament to heart, and start recognizing women athletes as the first-class players they are. It shouldn’t take another 40 years. Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.
C � � � � � F� � � � C � � � � �
CRIME REPORT Week of March 29 – April 4, 2021
Identity Theft, 300 blk Grove Ave, March 30, 2:41 PM, an incident of Identity Theft was reported. Destruction of Property, 1100
WWW.FCNP.COM
blk W Broad St, March 30, 6:22 PM, a window of a business was broken but no entrance was gained. Fraud/False Pretense, 1000 blk W Broad St, April 1, 12:52 PM, an incident of Fraud was reported. Shoplifting, 500 blk S Washington St, April 1, 1:43 PM, items of value were taken from a business. A male, 26, and a male, 26, both of District Heights, MD, were arrested for shoplifting, Indecent Exposure, 100 blk E Annandale Rd, April 4, 12:41 PM, a male, 39, of Arlington, VA, was arrested for indecent exposure.
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
From the Front Row: Delegate Kaye Kory’s
Richmond Report Since the death of my longtime friend Ben — a rescued dog that I was fortunate enough to be able to invite into my family — I have thought deeply about the roles animals play in our lives and the roles we play in their lives. The humane treatment of animals has always been important to me as a legislator, community activist, parent, neighbor and sister. Advancing this value is complex and multitiered. I have sometimes been successful with my support of animal protection legislation. Animal welfare should never be a partisan issue, but frequently the General Assembly votes have broken along party lines. However, as the majority has moved into Democratic hands, we have had the opportunity to pass legislation that will protect and support animals in Virginia. I am proud that I successfully patronned the Humane Cosmetics Act in this session, making Virginia one of four states in the nation to protect animals from cruel cosmetics testing. My bill, HB2250, mandates that the sale of any personal products containing ingredients tested on animals in Virginia will be unlawful as of July 1, 2022. I have been working on this ban since I first introduced the bill in 2016. I have fought for legislation allowing a police person to break into a car to rescue a pet in danger of dying from heat or cold. I also worked to prohibit towing a car with a pet inside it after a constituent brought me her story: Her dog was inside her car when it was towed. She spent many hours trying to find her pet and car. When she finally located them, she was not allowed to free her dog until she had waited in a long line, filled out numerous forms and paid a fine. I worked with local governments and towing companies to prevent this from ever happening again. I have patronned legislation mandating the adoption of animals used in testing facilities against the fierce lobbying of universities performing that testing; mandating shelters to notify the public when planning to euthanize any animals due to
lack of space so that the animal may be adopted or moved to another shelter before euthanizing. I have supported expanding the legal definition of “service dog;” the decriminalization of catch and release of feral cats; the creation of the Registry of Adoptable & Transferable Companion Animals. I have worked legislatively and with community activists to ban puppy mills and puppy sales in pet shops. I have voted to ban tethering dogs outside in very cold or hot weather, and failing that outcome, to restrict the conditions in which that tethering may occur. Over my years in the House of Delegates, I have been proud to receive awards from the Humane Society, PETA, accolades from the Dog Army and from Humane Domain for my actions to protect animals. I intend to continue my battle for animal rights as a legislator, a community activist and rescued pet owner. I grew up with rescued dogs and cats. My mother taught us that it is irresponsible to purchase a pet when so many are in shelters without a forever home. Currently I live with two rescued cats and just lost my rescued dog (after 9 great years) to a neuropathy disorder. I support local rescue organizations and encourage others to do so at every opportunity. I founded the Legislative Animal Welfare Caucus in 2018. I have continued to Chair and staff this Caucus thus bringing diverse experiences and voices to the table in our search to make Virginia an animal-friendly and humane state. I actively support all animal rights legislation brought before the General Assembly. I am very concerned about the lack of enforcement of animal protection laws and will do all I can to increase funding for the Animal Law Unit in the Attorney General’s office. I will work to make our companion animal laws more inclusive. I pledge to Ben that I will explore all legislative and community-consensus avenues to end animal cruelty wherever it is found in our Commonwealth.
