Anna Kimball: Female Youth Introduced to Gender Discrimination

SIDNEY AUNG
Sports Editor

Gender bias has remained a prominent issue in society and is apparent in sports today; the bias is evident in the case of Anna Kimball, a 7-year-old girl from Allen, Texas. Kimball’s mother, Tami, received a phone call from the team’s baseball coach notifying her that Anna would not be allowed to participate because of her gender.
The unnamed coach’s reasoning behind his exclusion of females from his baseball team is to ultimately make his team play in a “more competitive” league. His actions opened the door to various ethical issues. If the coach’s actions were to go unquestioned, it would demonstrate that kicking an athlete off a team based purely on gender is reasonable, and that is unacceptable.
Participation in athletic activities should be based on the ability to play sports, not on factors that are out of a player’s control. For the most part, school-affiliated sports accept both females and males. For example, high school wrestling consists of females, many of whom become extremely successful wrestlers and demonstrate that they are capable of accomplishing anything that a male can. Coaches today should allow athletes from all backgrounds to participate and receive the same opportunities.
In the case of Anna Kimball, what she had experienced was a demonstration of immoral gender discrimination. Sports should ultimately promote an equal opportunity for all athletes.