Amazing ‘When I Play’ Short Film Will Have You Shouting For Women’s Sports
I’m smiling from this love letter to women’s sports.
Sports of all levels and abilities.
Do you move?
Do you compete?
Have you ever been told you can’t because you’re a girl?
I bet you’ll love this short film as much as I do.
ESPN put it together in honor of Women’s History Month, which happens to be now.
Just in case you find yourself wanting to read the words as much as hear them, here you go:
To Whom It May Concern:
What I am doing here is not for you
Not for your judgment or your appraisal
Not for your assessment or your arousal
No boy I know has ever been told he shouldn’t play
Couldn’t play
I am not worried about getting too big or too strong
Or too fast
Or too full of myself
What I am doing here is not
For
You
Movement
Is a movement
For every woman, every girl
Who dares to see herself as something more
Than a body to be rated
A score to be kept
When I play, I know who I am
When I play, I forget how it feels to be boxed in
To be boxed out
When I play, I feel no shame
This court
This field
When I play I know I won’t be undone
I won’t be unsung
My humility
My humanity
This is not the end of my dream
This
Is where I wake up.
Allison Glock is the creative director on the film. She wrote the poem that became the script. She explains, “‘When I Play’ is a film that directly and unapologetically celebrates who we are, what we want to be, why our visibility matters, and gives voice to women and girls who see their athleticism as a way to reclaim themselves, to find themselves and to embrace their power.”
If you like stories about overcoming obstacles,
Please check out my book, “Hope Possible: A Network News Anchor’s Thoughts On Losing Her Job, Finding Love, A New Career, And My Dog, Always My Dog.”
