Mo’ne Davis is the first girl to win and pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series (LLWS). Davis broke down barriers not only for females in her hometown of Philadelphia, but female athletes all over the country.
Davis is the only LLWS player to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Davis set an example for young athletes dealing with adversity that were faced with doubts on whether they could perform, as well as females who were told they would never be equal to males. She was told countless times that she is in a man’s sport; she will never succeed, and called many derogatory and sexist slurs, her words to live by are “brush off the haters.” Davis has helped the WS community overcome adversity and see themselves equal to males, so they can succeed.
“I have to be strong, independent, and flawless, and I don’t let anyone intimidate me. I want to prove that females are equal to males in society, we can work as one regardless of sex,” said junior Kathleen Amann, who is on the Varsity Softball team.
Davis was called derogatory statements by her classmates, who were jealous of her for her fame and success. Davis has had to prove herself time and time again to not only her male counterparts, but herself because all of the hate is getting under her skin.
“Keep your head up and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do anything because you’re a boss. My fellow swim rival told me I would never beat her, I trained hard and I beat her into a pulp, you just block them out,” said Amann.
Davis is very humble about her new found fame and fortune. She was on the front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer for five straight days. She was praised by, Ellen DeGeneres, Billie Jean King, MIchelle Obama and Jimmy Fallon. Davis thought it was “pretty cool to be a remodel at 13”. She was a remodel for young teens and athletes Davis broke down color barriers after being continuously told that this is not her sport, that baseball was not an African American sport, nor a female sport.
“It allows opportunity for women and other races to make a name for themselves. Since we live in a very big and vast world it motivates us to look at the bigger picture,” said senior Max Nguyen.
Davis has overcome all of this to play at a very high level that has certainly grabbed the attention of her community and the WS community. Davis goes to schools and recreation centers to speak out against bullying.
“She played better than a lot of males, it gives me motivation to show doubters that they are wrong,” said sophomore Varsity Baseball player Josh Kisner.