Basketball's New "Prince"

I was so thrilled when I learned about the latest female superstar. A girl named Epiphanny Prince broke the high school girls' basketball record for most points scored by one player in a game. Prince scored 113 points; the previous record-holder, Cheryl Miller, had scored 105 points. As I eagerly read about Prince's accomplishment, I came across a statement made by LeBron James, who's touted as the next Michael Jordan, and I was even more encouraged:

"It's an amazing thing when an individual does that," NBA star LeBron James said when told about Prince's performance. "I don't know who she is, but maybe we'll see her in the WNBA. For that matter, the NBA."(1)

My parade was quickly rained on, however, when I did some research and found several articles criticizing Prince for dominating the ball over her teammates and unnecessarily humiliating the other team.

Kara Yorio, of the Sporting News, called Prince's achievement "appalling." Yorio goes on to say

My disgust is not really aimed at Prince or even so much personally at Grezinsky [Prince's coach], as much as it is as every coach and team that lets their star go above and beyond and needlessly rub the opposition's noses in their futility.(2)

I have to say that I am amazed by such comments: "needlessly rub the opposition's noses in their futility"? Yorio writes as if the only reason that Prince was allowed to continue playing in the second half (which is the point at which her coach realized that Prince had a shot at the record) was to humiliate the other team. That's absolutely ridiculous. Her coach let Prince continue because she had a shot at setting a national record.

The game speaks not so much to the opposing team's weakness as much as it does to Prince's outstanding talent. And while I understand that basketball is a team sport, I hope that none of the negative reactions to Prince's record-setting game result from a gender bias that expects females to be self-sacrificing for the greater good and always considerate of the feelings of others, even if it means accepting less for one's self (think of the ubiquitous mother who is so busy cooking dinner and making sure that everyone gets what they need at the table that her food is cold by the time she finally eats).

I recalled in a class the other day observations my father had made about watching my volleyball games as compared to watching my brothers' basketball, soccer, and baseball games when we were teenagers. The girls were far more polite; if we saw a chance to go for the ball when our teammate had a shot at it, we would either let the other girl get the ball, or hit the ball but apologize for doing so. We were so afraid of offending anyone by being too aggressive, or of stealing anyone else's chance at scoring.

After relating that story on Monday and learning of Prince's achievement yesterday (and of the backlash toward it today), I have to salute Prince. I hope that other young women will follow her example and assert themselves by "going after the ball" in whatever arena they find themselves. Young women should not be socialized into a culture of mediocrity, no matter how polite or genteel it may seem.

Sources:
(1) AP, "Look Out Kobe: NYC Girl Scores 113 in HS Game," ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2315990

(2) Yorio, Kara. "One Record That Shouldn't Have Been Set," Sporting News. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=58639