Every girl has a story.
For some, it starts as early as kindergarten, when a boy pulls her pigtails or tugs on her skirt. He tells her that she can’t play football with the other boys, even though that’s all she plays with her brothers at home. The next thing she knows, all of the boys start using her name as an insult whenever they drop a catch or miss a tackle.
“Don’t play like her, she’s a girl.”
For others, it starts much later. The most popular sport at her high school is football, and everyone floods the bleachers on Friday nights to watch those same boys. Her soccer team won the state championships last year, but only the football team gets to visit the weight room during gym class instead of running the mile.
The school says it’s not a gender issue, but a viewership one.
Whether it’s a little girl in elementary school playing with her American Girl Doll, Julie, while her brothers roughhouse in the backyard, or a high school hockey player changing in the bathroom because she is the only girl on the boys’ team, they all have a moment where they realize they are different.
But now, all of those little girls have begun to grow up, and they’ve decided that they deserve a place in professional sports too.
Women’s sports are on the rise. In 2025, viewers in the United States watched 46 billion minutes of women’s sports. The Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Women’s Pro Baseball League are pioneering new opportunities for the girls of tomorrow, while the WNBA plans to expand its league to 18 teams by 2030.
2026 has given way to superstar athletes like Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, and Olympic hockey player Hilary Knight, who have lit up ESPN with nothing but shiny trophies and gold medals.
But soon after the TV turns off, all of the doe-eyed kids watching rush outside to play two-hand touch while the men stay inside to trash talk the current state of the New York Jets. Still, one young girl never felt too different.
“My entire life and childhood, I’ve always just been interested in literally all sports possible,” said junior Abby Brown. “And growing up, I was surrounded by mostly men… I never felt different because I was the only girl until much later in life.”
Brown grew up a tomboy, always wanting to play soccer during recess while her female peers showed disdain. By the time she hit high school, she was a three-sport athlete, indulging in lacrosse, soccer, and basketball after school.
Photo courtesy of Abby Brown
Brown grew up a tomboy, always wanting to play soccer during recess while her female peers showed disdain. By the time she hit high school, she was a three-sport athlete, indulging in lacrosse, soccer, and basketball after school. Now, looking to pursue a career in sports media, Brown feels inspired when she sees a female reporter on her TV.
“It really encourages me to maybe one day be one of those women on the screen or behind the camera, who, just from doing her job, is encouraging the younger generation to dream big and not be afraid to work in an industry that’s very male-dominated,” she said.
Another student, junior Taylor Lancenese, shares the same love for sports and ambitions as Brown.
“I came out [of] the womb and my dad put a football in my hands,” said Lancenese. “He was a diehard Penn State fan… I grew up and he would teach me every single thing that I had to know.”
Lancenese now works for the staff at WMSC, calling games and hosting her own radio show on Friday afternoons. The dual-sport athlete, spending her childhood on the soccer pitch or in a pool, would die alongside her Philadelphia Eagles and Nittany Lions if it meant a victory for either team.
Now, after watching all of those football games growing up, Lancenese got her career inspiration from a journalist that ordinary fans might overlook, and a female one at that.
Lancenese now works for the staff at WMSC, calling games and hosting her own radio show on Friday afternoons. The dual-sport athlete, spending her childhood on the soccer pitch or in a pool, would die alongside her Philadelphia Eagles and Nittany Lions if it meant a victory for either team.
Photo credit: Nicole Carey
“I turned on an NFL game and Erin Andrews was on the sideline, and she was interviewing the players,” she said. “I turned it over to a different station, and I just saw how a man was doing her same job, and I’m like, ‘Erin Andrews is actually killing this’… she genuinely made me sit there and be like, ‘that is a woman in sports,’ and that right there, truthfully, is what sports should look like.”
Despite the rise in women’s sports, Lancenese and Brown both mentioned facing discrimination because of their gender, particularly with people questioning their judgment or knowledge despite their experience.
“When it comes to women, I feel like we are always constantly proving ourselves… like, we know what we’re talking about,” said Lancenese, “whereas with a man, nobody has to second-guess it.”
Brown shared sentiments similar to Lancenese’s, recalling times where her male peers received more praise when she had accomplished something much greater.
“They just judge you so much for knowing about sports, like every little thing, and it makes me mad,” Brown lamented.
Still, the two students refuse to back down and let prejudice get in the way of their passion.
“Honestly, all of the opportunities at Montclair that I am getting… make me feel really empowered, and encourage me to keep going,” said Brown, recalling her experiences with the Red Hawk Sports Network and The Montclarion.
“I want to go back in time and just tell younger Taylor, ‘Keep your head up and keep going,’” said Lancenese, while also looking back at her college journey. “It’s going to be okay. No matter what happens, it’s supposed to happen.”
