To the Editor:

People's opinions on girl athletes are harsh. Should they be?

Throughout my whole life, I have felt discriminated against. I have felt like I need to prove myself to my teachers, my coaches, even my peers

Can you guess who I am? You guessed it; I am a 13-year-old girl who likes to play sports.

All around the world girls and women are discriminated and treated like the stereotypical version of their gender. That's not fair, is it?

Have you ever heard of the saying “like a girl?” Almost all of the children over the age of 10 in America have heard that saying before. The saying “like a girl” means that you are doing something weak or bad; that's disgusting.

Women and girls all around the world work their ponytails off to have a good sports reputation, and to be treated like this at the end of the day is very unrewarding.

Do you think that men are better at sports because of their body type? Over the years, women have found ways to make sports their own.

For example, my soccer coach has taught my team and me several different ways to hold a defending stance so that we don’t tear our anterior cruciate ligaments. It is a proven fact that women use different muscles in their legs than men, which explains why women and girls often tear their ACLs. It’s not because they are weak but because they use different muscles in their legs.

Women have thrived in sports for the last couple of years. The Women’s World Cup was one of the most widely watched tournament in the world. Also, in my school, girls’ sports teams such as soccer and lacrosse have gotten more and more popular over the past five years. Because of this, my school's sports Twitter page has mentioned girls’ sports more often although there should be still more mention.

Women have re-created sports in their own way. When sports were created, men were the ones outside making up the rules and the way to play that sport, while the women were at home cleaning and taking care of the kids.

Well, reality check; it’s 2016! Men and women both play sports in their own way. It’s time to wake up and accept that men had their time to be the popular ones in sports but the women are taking over now.

Overall, I think that both men and women are great at sports and are getting better every generation. If we all just stick together and stop trying to argue about who is better at what, the sports community will thrive even more than now.

Oh yeah, and remember, you can do things like girls, too — if you try harder.  

Zoey Kmack

Farnsworth Middle School