By Shia Kapos
Women athletes have never been so inextricably linked to political discourse as they are today — speaking out on criminal justice reform, #MeToo, Senate races, publicity rights for their name, image and likeness (NIL), and inequalities in the NCAA.
And when the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team takes the field at the Tokyo Olympics, we can expect a renewed discussion on pay equity.
The female athletes who now serve in Congress see this sports-politics nexus as marking a powerful new moment for women, who are — across all areas of society — becoming more comfortable speaking up about policy and politics. The media, which for years focused more on women’s appearance than activism, has also become less dismissive of women who enter the political arena.
“Women are at the point where they’re not going to sit back and think in that old-fashioned way of being lady-like and just taking it. I think we’re at an age in 2021 that when women see something that needs correcting, they’re going to say something,” Rep. Cheri Bustos, a two-sport college athlete (basketball and volleyball), told Women Rule. Bustos is still an athlete — she plays on the congressional softball team — and counts New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as a tennis partner. (Gillibrand's first leadership position was as captain of Dartmouth’s women's squash team.)
This week, Bustos and Gillibrand co-sponsored a bill that would end forced arbitration for sexual assault and harassment claims. Forced arbitration clauses prevent workers from suing their employers, requiring them to bring complaints privately instead. Lawmakers say the new bill would give women in the workplace a stronger voice.
“Women athletes have far more power and influence than I ever could have dreamed of when I was playing,” Rep. Lori Trahan, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Women Rule. “They have a pivotal role in our country’s public discourse especially right now and the coming years as we continue working to create a more equal playing field, whether it’s in business, government or the economy.”
Trahan, who earned a scholarship to play Division 1 volleyball at Georgetown University, expects the expanding spotlight on women’s sports to be far-reaching as young people take notice.
“Women athletes being more exposed to young people, whether on social media or TV, I think benefits the youngest players,” Trahan said. “I have young daughters who see these women and they look at them and see that they can be whatever they want to be if they work hard. It’s an important message.”
That sports ethic is what drives the women athletes in Congress, too.
“It impacts every aspect of my life and it helped me learn some major life lessons,” said Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat who previously competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) as an amateur in 2006 before she went pro in 2013. She had a 5–1 win-loss record.
Davids said the daily work required of a pro athlete translated to her learning the ropes in Congress.
“You go into the gym and you work on a whole bunch of things — punching, kicking and getting out of the way so as not to get kicked. And you do this every day until one day you realize I’m not having to think about every single piece of this move,” said Davids, who was elected in 2018 with a freshman class that had little elected expertise. “I hadn’t held elected office before. It felt like I was drinking from five firehoses,” she said. “Some days it was overwhelming. But you just keep working and at some point, you realize you don’t have to think about every aspect of the process.”
She and the other congressional athletes say it’s the teamwork that translates most.
“You learn to win with dignity, lose with dignity and always have a competitive spirit,” said Bustos. “And when you have a teammate who doesn’t have a good game, you help them up. They’re all lessons that parallel politics.”
Dominique “Awesome Dawesome” Dawes, a former Olympic gymnast, has been involved in politics since she drew national headlines as the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics in 1996.
After her win, Dawes, who currently runs the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academy in Maryland, became a familiar face on the Hill advocating for causes related to self-esteem, academics and career development and she later joined President Barack Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.
“Equal opportunity is important in sports. But it’s always been about so much more,” she told Women Rule. “It has to do with someone’s physical and emotional health and that drives their destiny in life.”
