🤰🎾 Bouncing Back to the Court: Pregnancy’s Spicy Serve in Professional Women’s Sports
TL;DR; 📝💫: Tennis champ Serena Williams wasn’t just serving balls, but a baby on board, winning the Australian Open when she was eight weeks pregnant! Some reckon mamas are better athletes; after all, time management and body understanding get a super upgrade. But the recent claims by WNBA player Dearica Hamby about pregnancy-related harassment cast a shadow on the court. From changing diapers to changing teams, the balancing act between professional sports and motherhood is wilder than a teenager’s party.
🌟Kicking off this sporty saga, we recall when Serena Williams, queen of the tennis court, won the Australian Open in 2017. She didn’t just smash those balls, but also societal norms, because Serena was rocking an eight-week baby bump at that time. 🤰🎾
While we’re wowing at Serena, some experts are doubling down on the “mothers-are-better-athletes” thesis. Could it be because they’re juggling diapers, pacifiers, and a demanding career? Or is it the sudden adulting, like understanding their bodies and peaking later in life? But this isn’t just a simple serve-return game, is it?
Shifting gears to the WNBA, Dearica Hamby took one for the team when she faced a not-so-sweet scenario. She called out harassment related to her pregnancy, turning the spotlight back on the challenges that female professional athletes encounter when maternity and matches cross paths. It’s like trying to slam dunk while breastfeeding, amirite? 😅🏀
Pro soccer player Jess McDonald knows the score. The single parent and goal-kicking wonder were traded across six teams in five years. Try navigating child care in new cities while sharing a hotel room with a teammate and an 8-month-old. Oh, and your little one being blamed for a bad game? Seriously? Where’s the yellow card for that? ⚽️🤷♀️
Speaking of dribbles, Arizona State basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne delivered three children without taking maternity leave. Sandy Brondello, head coach of New York Liberty, decided to wait until her player retirement before venturing into the baby game.
Indeed, juggling parenthood and a pro sports career is a high-stakes game, with plenty of fouls, including pay disparities, harassment, and bullying. The pregnancy harassment claim by Dearica Hamby not only started a conversation but added a whole new chapter to the ongoing story of female athletes in professional sports.
Where do we go from here? Should our courts, fields, and arenas better accommodate our sporting sisters when they’re expecting? And is it time to challenge the norm and see pregnant athletes as the superheroes they truly are? 🏋️♀️🦸♀️
After all, as the final whistle blows, what’s the real goal here, to create a world where women can slam dunk or ace serve while expecting without any undue scrutiny? You tell us. 🌍🏆👶
Disclaimer: This story is not intended as a recommendation or endorsement of any kind. It is a re-telling of existing news events for the purpose of entertainment and generating discussion.
