The Athlete Way

To the generation who fought for Roe, I am sorry for not understanding sooner. Thank you for your gift. To the generation that comes next, I promise to fight with all the rage inside me.  We fight the same battles, over and over, decade after decade. And now, 53 years later, we find ourselves fighting a battle we thought we had won. We are fighting for a right that only a week ago was guaranteed to all of us.  I was on the phone with my sister on Friday morning when the news broke.  Oh my God, she said, Roe was overturned. Like actually, overturned. I can't believe it. There was a hushed knowing between us. A rushing in the veins. The slow rising of rage. Rage that had been tamed, taunted, pushed down, held back, silenced, dismissed. The rage of knowing that this was coming but not believing that it would actually come.  The rage of realizing, yet again, that we've been duped by the ones empowered to serve us. I am not sure how I expected to feel in that moment....

I am still striving for a dream I once touched.  The night was getting late. The crowd, though inspired, seemed to be getting restless. They were ready to move, mingle, and celebrate. Rhodes - my 10 month old niece - who sat beside me, had fallen asleep hours ago.  As I walked up to the podium, I didn’t know the exact words I would say. I had scribbled down a few notes. Yet writing a speech didn’t feel authentic to me. I wanted to let myself be carried by the passion in my heart, because the passion is what had carried me to that moment. I had to trust that the passion would lead me where I was meant to be. I was at my best when I trusted the passion, and let the desire to please fall away. I had mixed emotions leading up to the Hall of Fame and 100th Anniversary ceremony. Joy, grief, thankfulness, resentment, excitement, and anxiety. A lot of anxiety. Anxiety about the people I would see, about what I would wear, and say. I was scared about how I would feel in the moment - wo...