There are many stories of a pioneer who overcame an army of naysayers on his way to making history than one who didn’t.
In recent years, women in many professions had to face issues like being fired from their jobs or ridiculed no matter how talented they are.
But sexists learn soon enough is that far fewer people support what they are doing than they think. It might feel great to see the mothers of trolls embarrassing them for their actions. But it’s more powerful when a whole crowd stands up to support someone mistreated.
And it’s for that reason that the community around Mars Area High School has all the right to be proud.
A high school hockey team goalie became a target to inappropriate chants from the opposing team.
According to ABC News, this incident resulted in a ban on Armstrong High School students from attending hockey games. About 50 and 60 of them were responsible for the chants. The school’s hockey team was also paroled.
For Mars hockey coach Steve Meyers, the incident was particularly puzzling. The goalie was far from being the first girl on the team.
He said “With all the training on safe sports and sportsmanship, this shouldn’t have happened. It’s really disappointing.”
She received a very different reception when she returned to the ice on November 8.
While it is typical for a high school hockey game in this area to draw a crowd of about 200, the goalie, who remained unnamed to protect his privacy, ended up forcing 1,000 people from his school and beyond to show up and show your support for her.
And in case there was any doubt that the crowd was there for her, we can see that many of them came with messages of encouragement.
In addition to posters of support saying “girls rule” and those denouncing bullying, there were some people who supported the goalkeeper’s strength for overcoming intimidation by the sexist chants he had heard earlier.
Hard to say better than the sign that reads, “She overcame all that tried to destroy her.”
Following this show of support, the Mars hockey team released a statement expressing appreciation to “all attendees for making this a special night.”
And here’s to her. pic.twitter.com/Odq8SpRWwM
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) November 9, 2021
This statement also praised the goalkeeper herself. Her determination is admirable.”
