Beasley Reece: World Cup Win Is Such A "Great Image" For Women
By Chris Stigall
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) defeated Japan 5-2 to win the World Cup, much of the nation joined in celebration. At some bar in a nondescript airport, Beasley Reece was one of them.
Sports analyst and former NFL cornerback Beasley Reece told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT morning host Chris Stigall that when events like this happen, "we all become fans."
"At this level, you look at the footwork and the tricks, the command they have with the ball and it becomes just like any sport—it becomes like watching Phil Mickelson hit a flop shot or watching Shady McCoy or DeMarco Murray run over somebody or throw a move, you see the practice, you see the love and the commitment. It's more evident in soccer on those close-ups of one-on-one moves the way they use their feet and the balance with the fake moves. It's just really incredible."
But for Reese, as grandfather of a one year old granddaughter, he loves the image for women that have been set by the USWNT and the likes of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
"I don't want her to be a Barbie doll or look at super models or people who have an old fashioned look at what women are and who women are. I want her to look at these girls and see the confidence and the bravado and how much fun they're having through sport. It's just such a great image for women."
Reese feels that they would not have even been in the position to become that image for his granddaughter if it was not for Title IX.
"I consider Title IX and even the integration of sports, when it comes to African-Americans to be two of the most important legislations in government think that we got right in man's history. We think we integrated society with Martin Luther King and thank him for all his contributions but actually it was baseball and football that got us together and it was Title IX that Gloria Steinem and all these people, god bless them thank them for all their contributions, but it was Title IX that got women to a point where the world started to see things differently. That's the power of sports."
