Ashley Badis thought it was rough enough when she and her teammates in girls’ water polo had to practice in the ocean, battling fickle winds and choppy waves because their high school didn’t provide them with a pool.
But it was humiliating, Badis says, when she learned about female athletes on other teams at her school lugging their gear around all day, running to a nearby Burger King to use the bathroom, or changing clothes under the bleachers or on the bus. The boys had no such worries because they had their own locker room and other facilities.
“Hearing how many concerns and complaints that they had—it made me feel like I’m not alone in this, but it’s so wrong that we’re all being treated like this,” Badis, now 21, says.
Ashley Badis thought it was bad enough that she and her water polo teammates had to practice in the ocean. As a result, they had to battle fickle winds and choppy waves. This was all because their high school didn’t provide a pool for the girls’ team.
But Badis says that it was humiliating when she learned about the struggles of female athletes on other teams at her school. Many of them had to lug their gear around all day. To use the bathroom, they had to run to a nearby Burger King. Some of them even changed clothes under the bleachers or on the bus. The boys had no such worries because they had their own locker room and other facilities.
“Hearing how many concerns and complaints that they had—it made me feel like I’m not alone in this, but it’s so wrong that we’re all being treated like this,” Badis, now 21, says.