Diana Taurasi is a guard for the WNBA`s team Phoenix Mercury. During her career, she managed to win three Olympic gold medals and was UConn’s first two-time national player of the year. Taurasi made history as the first player in UConn history to total 2,000 points, 600 assist, and 600 rebounds in her career.

Becky “Big Shot” Hammond is a former player for the San Antonio Silver Stars. Hammond announced she will be retiring after this 2014 season. After her 16 years with the WNBA, she has managed to be the second woman in WNBA history to be voted for both the East & West all-star games. During Hammond’s first season, she averaged 18.8 ppg & 5.0 apg, and was named MVP in the Euro League All-Star game. She will be the new assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.

Female sports are just as important as male sports, because they teach females the same life lessons as male sports, lessons essential for the real world. We are told that we can do anything that we put our minds to. But when it comes to sports, it seems that that clique is a bit muted.

It never ceases to amaze me why female sports are still under-rated by the general public. For example, Carolina Pia, 11, was kicked off after a team after 2 years of playing on her catholic male football team, because the opposite team filed a complaint that they were playing against a girl. Anna Kimball, 7, was kicked off her baseball team, which she played with her brother, for being a girl. Complaints also came from the opposite team, and other parents. These two little girls are going to remember that their whole lives.

Being told you can’t play a sport that you’ve played for years because a few people think is wrong? They’re just little girls who want to have fun living their young lives, playing a sport they love. They should be encouraged to strive and be the best on their teams. To prove that, yes, they are girls on a male team but they can run, jump, hit, & tackle like any boy can.

The Title IX Law was enacted in 1972, stating that gender equality be placed in sports that receive government funding. This law was put into place for the female athletes to have equal opportunities just like the males. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, when comparing their 2004 to the 2010, data showed dramatic increases in female student athletes in Division I, a 21% point increase for women in Division II, 14% point increase for women in Division III.

Female athletes need to be recognized just as male athletes do, because it makes no sense for women like Diana Taurasi, Becky Hammond, and Serena & Venus Williams to make history, yet not be recognized to the level of their male counterparts like LeBron James & Kobe Bryant.

In the sports world, men are recognized as these strong beings of power. Explain the reason why females can’t do the same thing that man can on the court, or on the field?

In sports, men get aggressive all the time & get rewarded for it. If a female plays a sport, she may be automatically be labeled as acting unlady like. Let’s just try not to go back to the 1920`s when females could do nothing but cook & clean for their families. Female sports should be respected, because we can be just as good maybe, even better, than a male can.