34 | FALL 2023
the MIRROR
|ATHLETICS |
The world of sports is riddled with inequality It’s time to change that BY ISABEL VALLES
A
THE MIRROR ATHLETICS EDITOR
s I sat in my sixth period seat, my feet were twitching. I watched the clock in my classroom finally hit 3:38 p.m. I rushed home eager to get ready for something that I had been waiting for ever since the start of the summer: the first boys football game of the season. I arrived ten minutes before the game and claimed a spot on the bleachers from where I would be able to see everything. I sat down and took in how important this game was. The bleachers were full of students and parents, and all the administrators were sitting comfortably on the field in front of the endzone. JROTC students were there selling food for everyone. The cheer team was also in attendance cheering the team to victory the whole night. That night, the football team won their season opener and I only had one thing on my mind: how excited I was for the girls flag football season to begin. Seeing all the school spirit that was put in by the staff, cheer team and JROTC students for the boys football team made me thrilled to see what the school would do for the girls flag football team, especially because this game would be a big deal. It was the first flag football game in the school’s history. I had been interested in joining the flag football team since it was first announced by Athletics Director Mr. Dion Coley last year. Luckily, I got accepted into the team after trying out in June. I believed that since this was a brand new sport, students and staff would be interested in the newly formed team and wanted to support us throughout our journey as the first team.
However, inherent inequalities were noticeable from the start. Anytime there was practice, we were only allowed on a little grassy spot next to the softball field. There is where we practiced all summer long preparing for our season to begin. Every time we practiced, we were able to see the boys football team also preparing for their season. When I looked at them, I adored that they were able to practice on the big field where we would be playing our games. I found it a bit unfair, since the field is large enough to permit splitting it in half to have both teams practice. But I just shrugged it off just like everyone else on the team. The day of our first game arrived and I was elated, because it was the first ever girls flag football game. I got to school and noticed that the two cheerleaders in my first period class were not wearing their cheer uniforms like they normally would on football game days. I was able to convince myself that they would just change later and I simply went on with my day. The clock hit 2 p.m. and it was time to leave my fifth period class to get ready for the game. I walked into the locker room and immediately got a gust of positive energy from my teammates. Music was blasted and laughter was shared. I could also feel a lot of nervousness hidden behind that laughter. But that anxiety and nervous feeling would quickly be brushed away, because when we walked out onto the field, we would feel school spirit through the support and cheers being expressed by students and staff. Or so we thought. When we walked onto the field we saw no one but two of our teammates who weren’t able to play, and the other teams that would be playing later. No students were on our side
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People have to stop comparing the boys and girls teams and start supporting both, because at the end of the day, they are both representing our school.” Isabel Valles, Athletics Editor & flag football team member
of the bleachers like I had seen at the boys football game, no staff members were in front of the endzone, the cheer team was not there cheering for us and no JROTC students were in sight. It felt dreadful. I saw the look on my teammates’ faces and I was finally able to see the nervousness and fear that they were hiding earlier become visible. No one was there to support us on such an important day, the day that we had practiced months for. Where was the school spirit? Why wasn’t anyone there? Why was no one supporting us after we worked so hard just to be there? Why was the boys football game more important than the girls flag football game? Why? Why? Why? These were questions I asked myself over and over again for days, questions that I never got answers to. We ended up winning our first game. But I went home with a feeling of ambivalence. I was content because the months of practice paid off, but that feeling was drowned out by sorrow. I knew that the team felt alone and unsupported. I looked at the school’s instagram account
to see if they posted anything about our win, but I saw nothing. I then looked at the school’s athletics Instagram account to see if anything was posted, but yet again, there was nothing there. In fact, the sport is so discredited that many students are not even aware there is a flag football team at school. It felt like no one cared, like no one even bothered to bat an eye. According to a poll conducted by Seton Hall University, only 18 percent of sports fans in the U.S. watch women’s sports. This is not only a global issue, but one that occurs within the campus we pass through every day. Many female athletes at school are starting to notice the differing attitudes people hold for boys and girls sports teams. And flag football is not the only sport receiving this kind of treatment. The only difference between the girls and boys volleyball teams is that they are played during different parts of the year. Nonetheless, the girls volleyball team receives much less viewership and support than the boys’ team does. As their season comes to a close, barely anyone has attended girls volleyball games. I only aim to spread awareness, and to encourage students and staff to attend girls sports games to support the amazing female athletes on our campus. By doing this, teams will feel supported and cared about, like how we should have felt in the beginning of our season. People have to stop comparing the boys and girls teams and start supporting both, because at the end of the day, they are both representing our school. Hopefully, things will get better for the female athletes at Van Nuys High School. THE MIRROR | GIANNA IOVINO
OVERLOOKED The girls flag football team’s first game was met with little fanfare and attention, as opposed to the boys football team’s first game.
