TiffaraSteward

The Colossal Stature of Tiny Tiffara Steward

Tiffara Steward, a starting guard for New York’s Farmingdale State College Rams, brings an extraordinary presence to every basketball court on which she plays. The dominance, however, is not from physical intimidation, for her height barely reaches 4' 6" and weighs 90 pounds. Moreover, she is blind in her right eye, is partially deaf, and limps slightly due to a congenital back problem that left one leg shorter than the other.

Her force, instead, comes from her commitment to live without excuses and from her immeasurable will to win. These attributes – far more than her size and stature -- have earned her esteem that transcends her basketball accomplishments.

In recognition of her indomitable spirit and exemplary sportsmanship, Ms. Steward was the 2009 recipient of two of the most prestigious awards in the world of sports: The “V” Foundation Comeback Award and the Women Sports Foundation’s Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.

Besides helping her team to a winning record, the March announcement of the Jimmy V Award, perhaps the nation’s prime student-athlete honor, highlighted Ms. Steward’s 2009 season. It is given annually in memory of NCAA Coach Jim Valvano to athletes who represent “a personal triumph in the face of true adversity.”

“I am humbled to receive an award given in memory of Coach Valvano,” Ms. Steward said . “I believe, like Coach V, that one should never give up, no matter what disabilities or hardships you are faced with. Your goals may be a little more difficult to achieve, but if you try and try again, you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to.”

Now the appreciation for her exemplary spirit continues into this year as the United States Basketball Writers' Association recently named her as the woman winner of its 2010 Courage Award. The men's Courage Award goes to Dave Rose, coach of the men's team at Brigham Young University. The two will receive their honors at a banquest at the NCAA Men's Final Four Tournament in San Anontio. www.sportswriters.net/tipoff/february10/courage.html

Ms. Steward continues to be a small teammate but a large contributor to her team's success this season, as the Farmingdale Rams team is undefeated. In a recent Farmingdale game on February 11, 2010, she scored 12 points, including two 3-point shots, according to Farmingdale State's Deana Ward, assistant athletic and sports information diretor.

Ms. Steward’s tenacity in sports and life grew out of the expectations her mother, Vanessa Jones-Steward, always had for her daughter. While her premature birth had its physical consequences, “We never thought of her as disabled; we never said there was something she couldn’t do,” Ms. Jones-Steward said.

So it is that Ms. Steward continues to impose her resolve and determination as she moves forward to graduation. She plans to focus on a career in sports commuication and administration.

Surely, she will proceed on to a life that exemplifies the will to Woman Up!

 



The Promise of Courtney Paris:

an Original Woman UP! Moment

“Even as she was catching her breath following her team’s 2-point loss to the University of Louisville in the NCAA Tournament semi-final game in April of 2009, Courtney Paris repeated her commitment to repay her college scholarship if Oklahoma did not win the woman’s national basketball championship. A column by Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle connected her promise with an approach not usually seen in sports and life. "Paris title pledge works beautifully on many levels" -- SFGate

COURTNEY PARIS

The pledge prompted extraordinary discussion in the media, online(New York Times). . . and around the water cooler and the dinner table: Was Courtney shouldering too much responsibility for the team’s performance? Is a national championship the only measure of success? In any team sport, are the expectations greater on the coach or players? Who is accountable? One writer, Colin Ward-Henninger, thought that Kobe Bryant should follow Courtney's example.

The University concluded its part in the discussion by refusing to accept repayment, but even that action brought about another round of opinions. In fact, famed columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, Scott Ostler said:

Here's a crazy idea for the U of Oklahoma folks: Let Courtney Paris keep her promise to pay back her scholarship, instead of letting her off the hook. Courtney is a true role model, a superb competitor and a bright and engaging woman. Why not let her be an example to kids - and the rest of us - of what character and honor and commitment look like?

Courtney answered by establishing the “Pay It Forward Foundation” to focus on charitable support for community-based educational, sports and housing programs in Oklahoma and California.

Courtney is now a professional player, originally with the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA, now scheduled to play for the Chicago Sky in the upcoming 2010 season.

About her extraordinary gesture that became a national story, prompting discussions on accountability and responsibility, Courtney said, “I guess I never imagined until that moment that I would actually say it. I just felt overwhelmed and so grateful to OU, the fans and my teachers, and it just seemed the right thing to say.”

Courtney said she has no regrets about the commitment, even though she was surprised at the intensity of the coverage and the intensity of the discussion.

“As a journalism major I guess I understand how something out of the ordinary will be covered. The attention was good, though, because it brought attention to women’s basketball and to the Oklahoma program, and that is what will last.”

The themes of gratitude and accountability return again and again to Courtney’s discussion of her gesture which, she said, was really an extension of a core axiom that guides her.

CourtneyParis1“I’ve always lived by the principle that To whom much is given, much is expected, so what I did wasn’t too unusual.”

Now, through the Courtney Paris Pay It Forward Foundation she will achieve her goal to “give back” to others, particularly in Norman, Oklahoma (where OU is located), the Bay Area (where she and her twin sister Ashley grew up).

Contributions to the Courtney Paris Pay It Forward Foundation can be made through The San Francisco Foundation.

Checks should be written to The San Francisco Foundation with the “Courtney Paris Pay It Forward Fund” in the memo section of the check. The mailing address is 225 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94104. Staff in the Philanthropic Services Department can also answer any questions about Courtney’s fund and about other avenues for giving.

They can be reached at 415. 733. 8500 or call Woman Up, America! at 415.260-1894.


Events across the nation during the February 3, 2010, National Women's and Girls' Sports Day focused attention on the continuting challenges to promote gender equity in United States sports and athletic programs. A visit to Capitol Hill by groups that included the Women's Sports Foundation, Girls' Incorporated, Girl Scouts of America, Natinoal Association for Girls and Women in Sport, and the National Women's Law Center urged Congressional and Obama Admnistration leaders to keep the promise of Title IX as a priority.

Passed in Congress in 1972 as "Title IX of the Education Amendments," the law was renamed the "Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act" in 2002 in honor of its principal author, a Congresswoman representing Hawaii at the time. There is some sentiment that it was also done to diminish the authoritative tenor of "Title IX."

The law states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...."

The law does not actually name "sports" within any of its articles, although the impact has primarily been within high school and collegiate athletic programs.

The most recent surveys from a few years ago show that access to organized sports programs in schools remains elusive:

º While 49.1 percent of all high school students are female, females comprise only 42% of all high school athletes, receiving 1.1 million less opprotunities to play.

º While 55% of all collge students are female, female athletes still receive only 42% of all participation opportunities, 36% of all operating expenditures, 43% of all college athletic scholarship money, and 32% of all college athlete recruitment spending. (NCAA 2000).

Beyond its opening the doors to competitive sports, Title IX's lasting potential, more importantly, is on its impact on the overall health and well-being of millions of girls.

º Girls who participate in as little as four hours of exercise per week may reduce their lifelong risk of breast cancer (a disease that will affect one out of every eight women) by up to 60% (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1994)

º Girls and women who participate in sports have higher levels of confidence, stronger self-images and lower levels of depression. Sports is an investment in the psychological health of women. (Miller Lite Report, 1985; Melpomene Institued, 1995; Colton & Gore, Risk, Resislency, and Resistance: Current Research on Adolescent Girls, MS. Foundation, 1991).

º High school girls who paritcipate in sports are less likely to experience an unwanted pregnancy and more likely to graduate from high school and get better grades. (The Women's Sports Foundation Report: Sport and Teen Pregnancy, May 1998; Women's Sports Foundation, 1989).

Woman Up America applauds the efforts of individuals and groups to remain vigilant in cases of non-compliance of Title IX and to stand up for the realization of the legislation's ideal.


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