Basketball players are thin, so are football players, soccer players, and runners. But does a person always have to be thin to be deemed healthy, or worthy of society's embrace?
It was crazy watching the news to learn that eight-teen year-old tennis phenom Taylor Townsend was rejected by the USTA for not being what they saw as "healthy" enough.
Shouldn't her doctor have a say in this? Even better, shouldn't Taylor have a say in whether or not she's healthy?
Well, have her say she did.
Townsend went on to shock (and shut up) the naysayers who didn't see her as a formidable tennis player because she doesn't fit the normal size, or championship caliber physique, by winning her first Grand Slam.
Townsend, ranked 203 overall, defeated the "healthy" 5'5", 125 pound Vania King, proving size doesn't matter, and that what does matter is heart.
America, just grow up, already. America has excluded people from participating in life because of ethnicity, age, gender, skin color.... and now weight? Understandably, boxers are expected to make weight for their matches. Do tennis players have to now "make weight" before theirs?
And where's WTT's Billie Jean King when you need her?
King, an openly gay woman who says she fights for the rights of all girls to play sports, has yet to take a stand on this issue (at the time of our posting).
It's really unfortunate that society won't let a person go after their dreams and passions because they don't fit a particular stereotype.
You may recall that tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams were ridiculed because they didn't "fit the mold". People scoffed at their hair style, their playing style, their bottoms, and the fact that their father was their coach who "unconventionally" trained and coached his daughters to stardom.
Did you hear about the girl who's Instagram pic was taken down because she was too fat?
When was the last time a 350 pound NFL linemen was told he was too fat to play football?
Haven't people learned that restrictions only make people stronger? In the end, people and their stereotypes lose, and those scoffed at - win.
It was crazy watching the news to learn that eight-teen year-old tennis phenom Taylor Townsend was rejected by the USTA for not being what they saw as "healthy" enough.
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| The new rising tennis star, Taylor Townsend. Remember the name. (AP image). |
Well, have her say she did.
Townsend went on to shock (and shut up) the naysayers who didn't see her as a formidable tennis player because she doesn't fit the normal size, or championship caliber physique, by winning her first Grand Slam.
Townsend, ranked 203 overall, defeated the "healthy" 5'5", 125 pound Vania King, proving size doesn't matter, and that what does matter is heart.
America, just grow up, already. America has excluded people from participating in life because of ethnicity, age, gender, skin color.... and now weight? Understandably, boxers are expected to make weight for their matches. Do tennis players have to now "make weight" before theirs?
And where's WTT's Billie Jean King when you need her?
King, an openly gay woman who says she fights for the rights of all girls to play sports, has yet to take a stand on this issue (at the time of our posting).
It's really unfortunate that society won't let a person go after their dreams and passions because they don't fit a particular stereotype.
You may recall that tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams were ridiculed because they didn't "fit the mold". People scoffed at their hair style, their playing style, their bottoms, and the fact that their father was their coach who "unconventionally" trained and coached his daughters to stardom.
Did you hear about the girl who's Instagram pic was taken down because she was too fat?
When was the last time a 350 pound NFL linemen was told he was too fat to play football?
Haven't people learned that restrictions only make people stronger? In the end, people and their stereotypes lose, and those scoffed at - win.
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