Tuesday's Taste I Mary Cain Alleges Abuse I 5 Min Read

Mary Cain became a phenomenon across the country at the age of 16 as she was merely in high school yet qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2012. Shortly after her qualifier she was began training at the Nike Oregon Project under Coach Alberto Salazar.

Cain was the youngest US track and field athlete to make the World Championship team, but is now alleging that she was "emotionally and physically abused by a system designed by Alberto [Salazar] and endorsed by Nike."



Cain is claiming that Salazar would shame her in front of others on the team when she did not reach the required weight targets which caused her to put extra pressure on herself to lose weight. Furthermore, she said that her low weight caused her to miss her period for three years, leading to lower levels of estrogen and five broken bones. 

She recalls that when she was signed by the Oregon project in 2013 she was motivated to be the "best female athlete ever" but she soon found herself just trying to survive. She claims that upon her arrival, an all male Nike staff convinced her that in order to reach her goals she would have to become thinner and thinner.

She believes that this abuse lead to her suicidal thoughts and her cutting herself. Nike is looking into the "deeply concerning allegations." However, it is worthy noting that Salazar's methods have previously been called into question by the U.S Anti-Doping Agency that found him guilty of conducting experiments with supplements and testosterone that were bankrolled and supported by Nike. As a result Salazar has been suspended for four years and the Nike Oregon project has been shut down. 

However, from the darkness of Cain's story into the light comes dozens of female athletes to her aide. Women supporting women should be the positive story line arc from this. Let Salazar slowly fade into the darkness of oblivion, and let the lesson be to support each other in intense situations. 

Quickly reacting to Cain sharing her story was long distance Olympian Shalene Flanagan who tweeted out her support “I’m so sorry, @runmarycain that I never reached out to you when I saw you struggling. I made excuses to myself as to why I should mind my own business. We let you down. I will never turn my head again.”

Another former American Olympian, Amy Yoder Begley, tweeted that she was kicked out of the Oregon Project after finishing sixth in the 10,000 meters at the United States track and field championships.“I was told I was too fat and ‘had the biggest butt on the starting line,’” she wrote, “This brings those painful memories back.” 

American olympian, Kara Goucher, who also trained at the Oregon project tweeted that she "has stories to match all of Mary’s claims and so much more.” These women coming out and supporting Cain's story is important as its often nice for people to feel validated and believed. 

It is critical that moving forward women support each other not only in the aftermath but during the actual time frame of events themselves. These stories are painful, and raw but we hope that the female running community can lean on each other and building something stronger. 

Hot Cakes & Hot Takes Key Articles of The Week I 6 Min Read

Hot Cakes & Hot Takes Key Articles of The Week

The US team beat Sweden in its first game under Andonovski last Thursday. Source: The New York Times

U.S. Women Soccer Team Granted Class Status in Equal Pay Lawsuit

Judge R. Gary Klausner of United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted the players class status.

The decision has not yet been made if the 28 plaintiffs' allegations against US Soccer Federation were true or if there has been a violation of federal law. However, this is a recognition and validation of the battle the U.S. women soccer players have been leading for other soccer players as well as paving the way for other athletes both in the US and internationally.

“We have an internal belief in what we’re doing. But to have someone, and in this case someone very important in this case, say, ‘I believe what you’re saying,’ is very important.”

Megan Rapinoe

This is an important achievement for the campaign against unequal working conditions and unequal pay in women's sports. Congratulations to all of us!

English women attract record crowd

Lucy Bronze of England battling for the ball at Wembley in London on November 9. Source: AP news

This is big: 77 768. The biggest crowd the England or Germany team has ever played in front of. 

“We have earned the right to be playing in front of 77,000 people at Wembley because ultimately we have put hours and hours of graft and finally women’s football is on the map.”

England's forward Nikita Parris

Although the hosts lost to Germany 2:1, this match still deserves to be celebrated. Wembley was a sell-out with 86 619 tickets sold but less people showed up because of the weather. This is the third biggest audience for the game worldwide, first two being U.S. team beating China in 1999 in California (90 000 viewers) and U.S. defeat Japan during the Olympics in 2012 (80 000). Congratulations to all of us! 

Andonovski aware of expectations as new USWNT coach

Vlatko Andonovski Source: NBC Sports

The new coach of the U.S. women national team says the standards are set very high for him by the team itself and his predecessor, Jill Ellis who was hired to win the World Cup and ended up winning two.

According to Kate Markgraf, the team's first general manager, they worked hard to find the right person for the job. The team held a camp before the two exhibition matches, one of which took place this week as U.S. beat Sweden in their first game under Andonovski. They are on their way to qualify for the Olympics 2020 in Tokyo.

Andonovski also added how humbled he was to receive a warm welcome from the players on the team.

Lamoureux twins have new motivation to return to Team USA

Monique Lamoureux-Morando, left, and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson. Source: espn.com

Lamoureux sisters are among almost 200 hundred players boycotting professional hockey in hope of achieving a sustainability and equality breakthrough in the league. They became leaders for the players back in 2017 when they fought for maternity benefits on players' contracts. Now that the women's hockey team's contract with US Hockey is about to be renewed in 2021, they are planning to be vocal in the negotiations once again.

In the article, the sisters talk about their maternity, experience of coming back to the game after giving birth, adapting their changed bodies to the game, and the amount of time they have to travel to earn money while they still can during a short time that window is open for female athletes.

Youth Basketball: an overview | 5 min read

Youth Basketball: an overview

According to Deborah Slaner Larkin, former CEO of Women's Sports Foundation, girls have 1,3 million fewer opportunities to play sports than boys do in high school and about 63,000 fewer participation slots at the college level.

Azzi Fudd, player of the year, All-USA girls basketball team Source: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY 

That being said, basketball is the most popular team sports for high school students, and the popularity of college basketball is growing.

organized team sports participation

It is a common recommendation for a child to start "sport specialization" - that is, playing just one sport that they aspire to become professional in, at the age of 13. However, from the graph above it can be observed that participation in sports drops in high school. Why is that?

The obvious reason #1 is I was not having fun for both boys and girls. However, 36% of girls also quit because they have decided to concentrate on their grades. Among other things, this tells you that they don't see a future connected with playing sports professionally, and thus they choose an academic path for their careers.

Well, you can not want to be what you can't see, right. This is why it is so important that women's sports, WNBA as well as women's college basketball, receive more media attention. Money will flow to women's basketball as soon as the audience wants to watch. So the best way to support women athletes is to attend and watch the game.

Consider salary motivation. What high school students can easily find online is that the average salary of a WNBA player is $72 000 compared to NBA player's average of $5 000 000 or about 70 times what a woman makes.

In her article, Kelly Wallace of CNN describes a day she brought her daughters to watch a women's basketball game at Columbia University. They'd already visited a man's game earlier, so she was excited to watch a women's team with her kids, one of whom also played basketball. When they walked in there were only a handful of people there - a striking contrast to the men's game. 

It's a slow process but the stereotype of women's sports being less of a show or less of a professional game should be eventually destroyed. 

participation in schools basketball teams

Perhaps a good way to start is to make sure more girls participate in the school teams. According to data, it's the suburban and rural population that takes advantage of this opportunity, and the urban kids lag behind. 

Hot Cakes & Hot Takes Key Articles of The Week I 8 Min Read

As always while you eat your Sunday morning hot cakes don't forget to check for our hot takes on key articles on women's sports of the past week. Since only 4% of media coverage is women sports, you can always get your weekly compilation in one place, here with us. Thanks for tuning in...

1. NWSL Raises League Salaries

The 2019 NWSL Champions, North Carolina Courage, celebrating their BACK to BACK Championships

This is HUGE for the NWSL. In a world where European salaries are hard to compete with, the NWSL had to something to sustain their league with the top talent in the world. The NWSL has released a statement that not only increases the maximum salary for their top players to $50,000 but also gives an additional $300,000 per club to pay top talent that meet certain criteria. 

The criteria to be eligible for the additional dough is as follows:

• NWSL Best XI or Second XI for either of the two most recent seasons (2019, 2018)

• International players who have more than three caps for their national team in the prior 24 months

• NWSL MVP, Golden Boot, Rookie of the Year or Defender of the Year winner for one of the two most recent seasons (2019, 2018)

• Domestic players who have completed at least five seasons in the NWSL

• Players who were formerly designated as allocated players by the U.S. or Canada (unless if the player refused the option to be allocated)

• Players previously on a contract that included allocation money

While this is crucial to keep the top talent in the league, it also worth noting that the league has increased their minimum players salary to $20,000. Top talent attracts fans to the league, but its the women who sustain the league while the top talent are gone at international events that keep the league alive. This is huge progress for the NWSL but there is still a long ways to go before women can play in this league as their sole profession.

2. Italy's Women Soccer Stars Restricted to $33,000 a Year

Italian Women's Soccer team celebrates after a World Cup win against China

The Italian Women's Soccer team shocked the world in the 2019 World Cup by making it all the way to the quarterfinals. They set records for the number of people tuning in to watch each of their games. It is said that out of Italy's 60 Million population, 20 Million tuned into watch their games. This is very important for a country that is predominately recognized for their mens national soccer team. 

However, despite their outstanding effort at this years world cup they government still recognizes them as "amateur" soccer players and thus are not allowed to make more than $30,000 euros ($33,000 USD) a year! It is outrageous that the government could treat the players so poorly when they represent the country on the highest levels of the international stage. There is a major lack of respect for these women, but we want them to know we see them, we hear them, and we stand with them. They need our support to continue the fight to get new legislation passed that would reverse the current law. 

3. NWHL Players Pay More Than They Are Payed?

Kimberly Sass Lines Up For The National Anthem 

If you haven't already you need to watch this NESN interview with Kimberly Sass as she tells all about what led to her joining the PWHPA. She reveals that she paid more money to play in the league last year than she was paid by the league.  It is shocking to hear her recant a typical day in her life!

As we've mentioned time and time again her message is she wants little girls to see it, believe it, and dream that they one day could be a professional hockey player as a full time career. She discusses how she is an architect and gets constantly asked why she is working if she is a professional hockey player. The pressures of having to constantly validate and prove yourself as a professional hockey player is unfair to women as they have earned respect but don't receive it. 

It is time for a sustainable league with the top talent in the world to be created. If it is the NWHL great, but the top players and the league need to work it out. If it is not the NWHL, then the top players need to find sponsors and form a league that will be sustainable for younger generations. It is an exciting but also very scary time in women's hockey as they are on the brink of creating a league that could be as strong as the WNBA or to total failure and collapse. We don't know what the future holds but we are here to support any league that wants to grow the game. 

4. Warriors Honor Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird

                   Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird Recognized by the Warriors on LGBTQ Night

The Warriors recognized Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird this past Wednesday on their annual LGTBQ night. Warriors Team President  Rick Welts said that Rapinoe was arguably one of the most influential athletes in the world. We couldn't agree more Rapinoe has become the face of the USWMNT movement for equal pay. However, Sue Bird is also leader in the WNBA and holds power world wide. They are the definition of a power couple. 

We believe it is worth noting that the couple did a small press conference and noted that they were honored to be recognized by the warriors and that even though San Francisco is a progressive city it is still important to include marginalized communities. They also spoke to how in women's sports LGBTQ athletes are nothing new, but men's sports are very far behind. The couple hopes to make a culture where men feel comfortable and safe enough to come out. It is interesting to think about how their are so many LGBTQ females out in the open but very few men. What can be done to our culture to make the men feel safe? 

NWHL Blue Line Stand Out: Paige Harrington I 7 Min Read

      Many professional female athletes have said that their goal is always to leave the game in a better state than when they found it. The story is no different for NWHL defensive stand out, Paige Harrington. She is a Boston native, who pursued who dream to be a professional hockey player after playing in college for UMass Amherst. During her time in the NWHL, Paige played two season for the Buffalo Beauts in Buffalo, New York and her final season with her hometown team the Boston Pride. 

      We caught up with Paige to learn more about her experience in the NWHL and what she envisions for the future of women's hockey. Check out our interview below!

  

Paige Harrington teaching a learn to skate program as part of the NWHL's youth initiatives

Not_Her_ Hobby: What was the most rewarding part about playing in the NWHL? 

Paige: Being a part of something much bigger than any one individual and making a footprint on history. The whole goal of the league is to create the space where young girls have the opportunity to play professional hockey and get paid for it.

Not_Her_Hobby: What were some of the challenges of playing in the league on and off the ice? 

Paige: Off ice, it was challenging moving away from home, having to find your own place to live, and working side jobs to make enough money. There were a lot of bumps along the way, but it was not surprising considering it was a start-up league. While I was in Buffalo, we were pretty fortunate to have a gym for off-ice training and had a great staff support. There were definitely challenges with travel, pay, ice time, etc., but overall the experience was so exciting and fun, that we all rolled with the punches.

Not_Her_Hobby:  From when you first started in the league to when you ended was the competition on the ice the same skill level? Had it risen? 

Paige: I remember the first season was a huge jump for me, coming from ACHA D1 club to playing with top tier D1 girls. The players were faster, stronger, more skilled, and it took me a few games to get up to speed. I came in as one of the last D-man, and had to work my way to get consistent playing time. The level of play was pretty much the same throughout the three season I played. Several players moved to the CWHL (Canadian Women's Hockey League) my third year, and that changed the intensity level a bit.

Not_Her_Hobby: What was the expectation for players in terms of time commitment to practices on and off the ice? Can you walk us through what a week in the life of a NWHL player was? 

Paige: It was different when I played for Buffalo because I moved out there just for hockey, so it was my main priority. I would spend most of my time at the gym or on the ice. I worked a side gig waitressing at a local breakfast place, so I would work in morning, get off and focus on hockey. We practiced three times a week, had workouts before on ice, and played games on the weekend. I lived with all my teammates, so we had way more bonding time together. Most of us came from different cities, so we all became really close going through the same experience. When I moved back home to Boston to play for the Pride, I started my sales career and it almost felt like I was playing hockey on the side. It was challenging to juggle both. For me the commitment to hockey was not overwhelming, but pairing it with a full time job started to become exhausting.

Not_Her_Hobby: How would you describe being an Isobel Cup Champion? What was that moment like for you?

Paige:  It was an unreal feeling, and something I will always be proud of. Our team that year was really close, and we played with so much heart. It was a tough game going against Boston, who pretty much went undefeated that year. Big shout out to our goalie Bri who was incredible and stood on her head.

Paige Harrington with the ISOBEL CUP

Not_Her_Hobby: When you think back to your time in the NWHL what will you remember? 

Paige: The people I played with.

Harrington with some of her teammates that she will remember most

Not_Her_Hobby: What do you envision for the future of women’s hockey? The NWHL since day 1 has been for the future of the game. Were there any changes from year 1 to your last year in terms of attendance? 

Paige: We had pretty good attendance the three seasons I played. Last year, I believe Boston sold out a lot of their games. Recently there seems to have been a bit of a division in the women’s game. Ultimately, I envision a more united league. A league where the top girls are playing, making enough money to keep hockey their top priority, and have a following that believes in growing the women’s game.