Imagine loving something so much you dedicate your every waking second of free time to improving the ability to do it.
For Bethany women’s basketball players Makenzee Mason and Abbey Dobbins that something was basketball.
Want a night out with friends? Sorry, have to get some shots up. Maybe sleep in on the weekend? Nope, early morning practice, followed by a couple hours in the gym lifting and working out later that day. How about a weekend getaway to the beach? No can do. There’s an AAU tournament two states over, and a coach from a school you are interested in is going to be in attendance.
Excelling at any sport takes work. Reaching a skill level high enough to be invited to play collegiately takes a level of dedication few are willing to put forth.
For Mason, Dobbins, their teammates, and college athletes everywhere, being on the team itself is an accomplishment and reason enough to hold your head high.
Now imagine all that hard work, dedication, sweat, tears, and hours in the gym get reduced to next to nothing by one tweet from some random person on social media.
Mason isn’t thin-skinned. Most athletes aren’t. But playing women’s sports, she and her fellow female athletes must endure an entire other level of negativity that their male counterparts never endure.
Case in point, the above-mentioned Tweet on social media. A person Tweeted out they were excited to watch a girls’ basketball game between North Central (Ind.) and Newark, the No. 1 and 2 teams in Indiana and Ohio, respectively.
It’s a basketball game most fans of the game would enjoy.
But one response to said Tweet said the following, “Excuse me Mr. [redacted], but girls’ basketball is not a sport. I’ve seen better basketball from 70-year-olds at my local YMCA.”
Not the First, Nor the Last
Trolls abound on the Internet who make ridiculous comments simply to get a rise out of people. Chances are that’s all this Tweet was intended to do. However, there are plenty of people out there who disregard girls’ basketball, and girls’ sports in general because it’s played by girls, or women. It’s not “real” sports they say
It’s not the first time Mason heard a similarly pointed comment.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences with being disrespected in sports,” Mason explained. “One, and I can remember to this day; I was named first-team all-Ohio in soccer, and they said to me, “It’s not like women’s soccer is a hard sport; you should get first team all-Ohio.’
“But that Tweet was my breaking point.”
Admittedly, Mason was fuming. She sought out Dobbins, her sophomore teammate and close friend, and showed her the Tweet. Dobbins’ reaction was understandably similar, and the pair had a long conversation about it.
“I come form a school that patronized male sports, so it hits home to men when I see disrespectful comments toward female sports and athletes,” Mason said.
“Our first brainstorming session was very hectic. We had a lot of good ideas, but we learned we cannot do everything at once. It takes baby steps to make an impact.”
From that session, Change the Narrative was born. Its goal is to empower female athletes everywhere and give them a voice. And not just athletes either.
“This is not just about athletes either,” Mason said. “I want this to be a platform that all females feel comfortable being a part of.
“I have a busy schedule, but I’m fully committed to this movement. It has been a lot of long nights, but it’s worth it. If I can help just one female find her passion and voice, it will be all worth it.”
Spreading That Message
Empowering women and giving them a voice: a worth goal, but one not nearly as easily achieved as it is to state. But as Mason said, start slow, build from there.
“One way we plan to achieve that goal is helping others share their stories,” Mason said. “We’re having #womenworthywednesday and #femaleflexfriday. We want girls and women to submit their stories and we can help share.
“I want this to be a platform all females feel comfortable being a part of.”
That message is and will be shared on Change the Narrative’s multiple social-media platforms, from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. They can be contacted at those sites, as well as through their email.
Change the Narrative has also partnered with Custom Print Apparel, LLC to design a logo and t-shirts. The logo features a yellow crowned lioness. Custom Print Apparel is a female-owned business by a woman who played soccer collegiately. She gets the movement.
“We wanted to use a lioness to show females can have courage and strength,” Mason said. “We can be figures of authority and be strong-willed.
“The Lioness also stands for sisterhood. If we stick together and empower each other, we can change the narrative. We put a crown on top to show even though we all have these different characteristics, and we are all different in our own ways; we are all queens.”
“I have truly found something I am passionate about and will not stop till a change is made. If you need support, someone to believe in you, and a place to bounce ideas around, my DMs are always open, and I’m happy to help.”
A Little Respect Goes a Long Way
Mason believes a lot of the issues can be traced back to the way women are viewed, in general, by the public. They can’t be leaders, or own businesses, or be strong or competitive. The ones who do speak up and or try to measure up are then viewed as controlling, or unstable, or lacking control, or bossy.
“We want people to give us the respect we work hard for and view us as people capable of doing these things,” Mason said. “I’ve heard a lot of people say women’s basketball isn’t fun because the (players) don’t compete when, in reality, I think we compete just as much, if not more.
“I know we work just as hard to be good at what we do.”
She also knows that a big key will be getting her fellow athletes, and women in general, on board. Men’s support is huge too, obviously, but empowering women also starts at home, with each other.
“Even just in the sporting world, if the women’s basketball team can support the soccer team, and the soccer team the softball team, etc., it can create a snowball effect,” Mason said. “We also want males to buy into the movement, but females supporting females is a huge step in changing the narrative.”
Mason is in this for the long haul. Even if she has to change opinions one person at a time, it’s a arduous journey she’s willing to make.
