Sunday marked Women's Equality Day, and Stephen Curry felt inspired to get "personal" about it. The Golden State Warriors point guard penned an essay about women's equality in The Players' Tribune, calling the idea of gender equality something "that's not politics," but something everyone should advocate.
This is personal. https://t.co/PbJlSk95R3
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) August 26, 2018
Steph said because he was raised by his mother, "for my whole life, really, I feel like I’ve been receiving this education on what it means to be a woman in America."
That education was harsh and was sharpened by his daughters. His six-year-old, Riley, declaring to her parents she wants to be a "basketball player cook" got him thinking about the challenges she would face in making that goal a reality. And it also got him thinking about how to tear down the barriers women face in both society and the workplace.
“I think it’s important that we all come together to figure out how we can make that possible, as soon as possible. Not just as ’fathers of daughters’; or for those sorts of reasons," Steph wrote. "And not just on Women’s Equality Day. Every day ― that’s when we need to be working to close the pay gap in this country.”
This essay is especially timely not only due to it coinciding with Women's Equality Day but also because it comes just a couple of months after Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson called out the wage gap between NBA and WNBA players shortly after LeBron James' huge Los Angeles Lakers deal was announced.
The Warrior argued NBA players need to do more to support the WBNA and to help groom the next generation of female basketball talent. In writing about an all-girls basketball camp he hosted this summer, Steph said one of his goals with mentoring the girls is to "get to a place where the women’s game, it isn’t 'women’s basketball.' It’s just basketball. Played by women, and celebrated by everyone."
Curry wrote he wants that same spirit to permeate society at large.
“I want our girls to grow up knowing that there are no boundaries that can be placed on their futures, period,” the two-time NBA MVP continued. “I want them to grow up in a world where their gender does not feel like a rulebook for what they should think, or be or do. And I want them to grow up believing that they can dream big, and strive for careers where they’ll be treated fairly. And of course: paid equally.”
In assessing just how he will instill these values in his newborn son, Steph ultimately provided a tip for all men claiming to be an ally or source of support for women.
“I think you teach him to always stay listening to women, to always stay believing in women, and — when it comes to anyone’s expectations for women — to always stay challenging the idea of what’s right,” wrote Steph. “And I think you let him know that, for his generation, to be a true supporter of women’s equality — it’s not enough anymore to be learning about it. You have to be doing it.”
Do it, indeed. Fans took to Twitter to praise Steph for his words and allyship:
@StephenCurry30 Curry’s excellence on the basketball court is legendary. His conscientious spirit in speaking out for equality and justice for veterans and now girls is what makes him an outstanding human being.
— Emerald Cow (@EmeraldCow2012) August 27, 2018
On women's equality, very well put… https://t.co/J8PyJQ9ZfN
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) August 26, 2018
“Always stay listening to women, to always stay believing in women, and, when it comes to anyone’s expectations for women, to always stay challenging the idea of what’s right.”
This is amazing, @StephenCurry30. https://t.co/7HTpXzC3nF
— Amara (@AmaraBaptist) August 26, 2018
“… to be a true supporter of women’s equality — it’s not enough anymore to be learning about it.
You have to be doing it.” @StephenCurry30 #truth
https://t.co/kKti2pwl1R— Ivor Horn (@DrIvorHorn) August 26, 2018
Curry's wife, Ayesha, gave him some Twitter love, too.
Best of husbands, best of men! https://t.co/Jz7gAjQ3P3
— Ayesha Curry (@ayeshacurry) August 26, 2018
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