Ahhhh, it’s the end of the year and time to reflect on other people’s lives instead of putting our own under the microscope. You’ve got to do some spectacular stuff to make the highlight reel in sports, and there have been plenty of women that have made mine. I’ve sat back with my beverage of choice and compiled a Top Ten Sports Moments list I like to call the Good, the Bad, and the Just Plain Ugly. So pick up those pom poms and tuck that mouth guard securely in place-you’re in for a bumpy 2009 ride.
10. SheWired’s very own Tracy Gilchrist and celebrity fitness trainer Shawnee Harkins.
Their numerous Fat to Fab videos never ceased to amaze me. The looks on Tracy’s face as Shawnee would explain some complicated routine of increasingly strenuous exercises was priceless. “You want me to do what?…how many times??” It was Girl Next Door meets Workout, and I think Jackie Warner should cast Tracy in her next show…if Jackie can stop sleeping with all the girls that walk through the door to think one up.
9. Mountain biker and lesbian Missy Giove
We should add to her resume hardcore pot dealer, now. Back in June she was caught with 400 pounds of marijuana and $1 million dollars. Nicknamed “The Missile” she held World Cup and National Championship titles until she retired in 2003. There was a freemissy.com website but it got taken down. All it had was a mug shot and a picture of what 4oo pounds of pot looks like. Wow, it’s right then that you find out who your friends are. She faced 40 years in prison and I have no idea if the case has gone to trial…but maybe someone can give me an address so I can be her pen pal?
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8. Golfer Michelle Wei
She finally got the monkey off her back and won her first Pro Golf Tournament this year, but she’s plagued or blessed with the “new face of LPGA” mantra. It has to tic off some of the more veteran players that she steals the spotlight from them. Entering men’s tournaments and pissing off Annika Sörenstam doesn’t help. You have to think though…the LPGA does need a boost-maybe if she sleeps around and wrecks her car at 2:30 am she’ll help pull up the tour in 2010.
7. Olympian Marion Jones
Fresh out of a Texas prison and looking for a fresh start, 2009 finds Marion Jones training to join the WNBA. Some say this Olympic athlete should go for it, while others think it presumptuous for her to assume she can play at such an elite level. Proof will be in the pudding. She’s got to tryout and she’s got to be picked up by a team. With the Monarchs going down in a burst of flame, I’d like to see more press and more tickets for any and all the remaining teams. Go Marion go!
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6. ESPN Body Issue - soccer player Natasha Kai
Here I’m calling an audible where I say stupid mumbled things about the gorgeous shots of women athletes and point while counting the number of tattoos that Natasha Kai has. Creepy yes…but I do it with the door closed and soft music on. After that nice little objectification, I’d like to hand it to ESPN for highlighting those beautiful athletes this year.
5. Tennis star Martina Navratilova
The latest name is Toni Layton, before that Judy Nelson and Rita Mae Brown. Martina has left a trail of tears and lawyers’ fees in her ended relationship wake. Toni and Martina called it quits sometime in 2008, but after a year of attempting to come to an agreement, Layton is ready to speak out about Navratilova. “There are a lot of skeletons in Martina’s closet. It is more like a storage facility full of them, and I know them all.” Maybe 2010 will find a resolution, a book or a mini series. It’s a mess and I don’t envy either of them.
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4. Lisa Leslie and AmélieMauresmo
Both these talented athletes retired this year.
Lisa is a three-time WNBA MVP and four-time Olympic gold medal winner. She had seven WNBA All-Star appearances and two WNBA championships. She was also the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. Asked recently on an ESPN chat whether she wanted to coach or work in TV, she said she would like both. She also said she would stay retired. “I will not Brett Favre you.”
Amélie was a former World No. 1 seed and won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Known for her powerful one-handed backhand and strong net play, she was an out lesbian that didn’t shy away from hugging her partner after a big win. Hopefully after some well earned time off we will see her again in another form of the spotlight.
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3. Laura Ricketts and the Williams sisters
Laura Ricketts became the first openly gay owner of a Major League Baseball team this year. Her family bought The Cubs, Wrigley Field and a share in Comcast SportsNet Chicago for $845 million back in October. That’s 101 years since the Cubs have won the World Series-maybe this is the luck they need to turn the tide.
Serena and Venus Williams became part owners in the Miami Dolphins this year. They became the first female African-Americans to hold a stake in an NFL franchise. They were joined by Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Gloria and Emilio Estefan. What I would give to sit in that celebrity suite!
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2. Serena Williams and Elizabeth Lambert
A foot fault call and subsequent outburst at the U.S. Open and Williams was fined a record $82,500 and now has a probationary period. Hair pulling, shoving and tripping during a New Mexico soccer game and Lambert was suspended indefinitely. Both women and stories got lots of press and everyone had their opinion of what was right and wrong about both cases. Good side: Women’s sports make the evening news. Bad side: For all the wrong reasons. Race and gender were brought up and a conversation ensued. May that conversation continue to blossom in 2010 and may the press be for the majority of good reasons.
1. Caster Semenya
I am sorry to have to put this at the top of the list. In August, after winning the gold medal at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, questions were raised about Semenya’s gender. There were so many problems with the way Semenya and her case were treated. All, I think, from the idea that there are such archaic and/or uninformed definitions of what a woman and a man are. What I learned from Semenya’s story is that gender can be very complex and we must all remember that there is a human being behind it all. Caster will turn 19 January 7th, 2010. She will keep her gold medal. My birthday wish for her is peace and happiness and more racing in the near future.
Find more on women in sports from Helen here!
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SheWired's Top 10 Scripted Lesbian Moments of 2009.
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