Bannister: Sisters, wait until after the game

I am sure that back in the fifties, sixties and even earlier, times were quite trying for people of color to get into professional sports.
You had Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier of Major League Baseball and others such as Oscar Robinson telling the tales of how he was treated when he was at the University of Cincinnati and in professional basketball.
These trials and tribulations are just a couple of the testimonies that I have heard or even seen when it comes to Blacks in organized sports. But, I will sit here today and argue with you until the cows come home that it is Black women, who are still going through the struggle of being accepted in organized sports-period.
Lately, as I have become more and more involved with collegiate sports, I have been given the opportunity of attending certain professional venues and I watch and learn, and watch, and learn; and then, I ask questions. I inquire about how it feels for certain females to work in such a male dominated field. Is harassment just fact or fiction? Or is it just slightly over-exaggerated? How are women portrayed? Are we still to be portrayed as subservient, although we have made such strides in such a field?
My point is that there are many women who have sacrificed a hell of a lot for our advancement in such a male dominated world and all too often, I see females that malign that struggle.
It is time that we as Black women appreciate ourselves and our position in sports as a coveted one. It is not a privilege to work with such people, it is a privilege to work in such a field. Let’s not ruin what others have done for us by becoming what skeptics and cynics think we are anyway.
Hence,at practice or at the real deal, we need to exhibit work ethics and demeanor unparalleled to others. Then we can handle everything else after the game.