Welcome to Last Week’s Wins #11!
I hope you were able to have a safe Thanksgiving holiday!
While these last few days may have given us all a chance to reset and prepare for the journey ahead, the world did not stop. This last week included NFL teams struggling to put rosters together, Maradona and Tony Hsieh’s deaths, a horrific Formula 1 crash, and COVID issues continuing to rise.
While a majority of news headlines in 2020 look like the above paragraph, it is still great to see WINS last week including women in sports, giving back, and global collaboration.
WINS THIS WEEK
Women Make Strides in American Football
Sports & Entertainment Stars Join The Season of Giving
Vatican x NBA Collaboration
WHY THESE WINS MATTER
WOMEN IN FOOTBALL
This past week was historic for women in sports. The headline star has been Vanderbilt Women’s Soccer goalie turned Football kicker, Sarah Fuller.
Congrats to Sarah and the Vanderbilt team for this incredible achievement!
Sarah entered the game to kick a squib kick to open the 2nd half. The backlash against this achievement on social media just shows that while this is a positive step forward in sports, there will still be many battles ahead.
"All I want to do is be a good influence to the young girls out there because there were times I struggled in sports, but I'm so thankful that I stuck with it, and it's given me so many opportunities and I've met so many amazing people through sports, and I just want to say that literally you can do anything you set your mind to." - Sarah Fuller
Browns tight-end coach Callie Brownson also made history this weekend as the first woman to coach an NFL position group.
As I read articles about Sarah Fuller, I became interested in the full history of women in American football. So many headlines read “first woman to play in Power 5 conference.” I wanted to highlight other pioneer women that broke barriers in football.
Patricia Palinkas - Placekick Holder - Orlando Panthers - Atlantic Coast Football League - 1970
Liz Heaston - Kicker - Willamette - 1997
Ashley Martin- Kicker - FCS Jacksonville State - 2001
Abby Vestal - Kicker - Kansas Koyotes - American Professional Football League (Indoor) - 2007
Katie Hnida - Kicker - Fort Wayne FireHawks - 2010
Julie Harshbarger - Kicker - Continental Indoor Football League - 2014
Jennifer Welter - Running Back - Texas Revolution - 2014
Each one of these women broke barriers and paved the way for Sarah Fuller and the future of women in sports.
SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT STARS JOIN THE SEASON OF GIVING
Big names like Chance The Rapper and John Wall spent their holiday week giving back to the communities they care about.
Chance partnered with his philanthropic organization, Social Works, to provide a few hundred turkeys to South Side Chicago communities where he also assists with school system funding.
John Wall has been the subject of various trade rumors that would take him away from DC, but he isn’t letting those rumors stop him from positively impacting the community around him. The John Wall Family Foundation delivered 1,000 hot meals in southeast dc last week.
This isn’t the first time John Wall has supported the DC community. He raised $500,000 to help pay rent for DC residents in June 2020.
Issac Rochell, LA Chargers defensive lineman, started a business in 2020 focused on creating, “apparel with intention”. The business born from this passion is Local Human.
For each shirt sold, the T-shirt company Local Human sends one T-shirt to a children’s foster center while donating every dollar from each purchase to The Do Good Foundation.
This business model delivers an authentic connection for consumers and gives people a sense of community and involvement to drive each purchase. The original intention of the business was to support nonprofits during the initial pandemic outbreak, however the events of the summer led to a need to support social justice causes.
“Before COVID hit, one in seven Black households struggled with food insecurity. After COVID, that number’s gone up to one in four Black households.”
VATICAN x NBA COLLABORATION
Pope Francis has been an innovative and thought provoking figure in the church during his tenure. The Argentine has spoken out on same-sex marriage as well as other issues that Church leaders have for the most part ignored throughout history.
He recently welcomed a group of NBA players to visit him and discuss social justice issues. The traveling party of NBA players included Kyle Korver, Sterling Brown, Jonathan Isaac, Anthony Tolliver. The group was accompanied by NBA Players’ Association Representatives Marco Belinelli (Treasurer) and Michele Roberts (Executive Director).
"We're here because, frankly, we're inspired by the work that you do globally." - Michelle Roberts
"You're champions, but also giving the example of teammork, you've become a model, giving that good example of teamwork but always remaining humble and preserving your own humanity." - Pope Francis
This opportunity and collaboration emphasizes the influence of sports on society. While this meeting was held behind closed doors and not with much pomp and circumstance, the impact and action items that come out will be influential on a global scale.
“We are extremely honored to have had this opportunity to come to the Vatican and share our experiences with Pope Francis. His openness and eagerness to discuss these issues was inspiring and a reminder that our work has had a global impact and must continue moving forward." - Kyle Korver