Three days ago, the University of South Carolina unveiled a statue of Gamecock legend A’ja Wilson in front of his basketball court, Colonial Life Arena.
The three-time All-American took South Carolina to a national championship in 2017 and was the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft just a year later. It was well deserved.
South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner said in a statement that it was Wilson’s achievements, both on and off the court, that led her to be enshrined as a Gamecock legend.
The statue was officially unveiled on Martin Luther King Day, and Wilson discussed its significance and relationship to social justice.
“My grandmother couldn’t even walk on this campus,” said Wilson in a call from Zoom. “If she was here today to see that her granddaughter has a statue where she couldn’t walk … it shows how you just plant seeds, and that’s what it is about.”
Recognizing the achievements of athletes with effigies cast in bronze is the end of immortality.
I am happy to see Gamecocks honoring one of their best athletes. And I believe that there are women in UF history who deserve – and should be – consecrated in this way as well.
Florida Heisman winners Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow are recognized with statues outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium because they achieved it by achieving greatness in a Gator football uniform. But it’s time to recognize our athletes too, just as South Carolina did.
Some alumni fit the bill. After all, some of the UF’s most legendary athletes were women.
We can start with Lisa Raymond.
Raymond was almost comically dominant in college. She is easily the best college tennis player of all time, ending her college career with an 84-4 record, winning 95.4% of her matches. In addition to winning a national championship with the Gators in 1992, Raymond extended his success beyond college, becoming number 1 in the world in pairs in 2000 professionally. She has defeated six former world number 1 singles players over the course of her career, including Venus Williams.
Keeping his title first for 137 weeks and winning 11 Grand Slam titles in doubles in total, Raymond is more than qualified for a bronze statue at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
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So, of course, it’s Abby Wambach. The list of Wambach’s achievements could be a novel and would not tell the whole story.
She won a college degree with the Gators in 1998, just three years after the football program was established. Wambach, along with other all-Americans Erin Baxter, Heather Mitts and Danielle Fotopoulos, ensured that the Gators football team under Becky Burleigh would be a meeting place for young footballers looking for a successful college opportunity. and at a professional level.
Since that championship, the Gators have been to the NCAA quarterfinals four more times and have won the regular season SEC title nine more times.
Wambach is champion of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, winner of the FIFA Player of the Year, twice a gold medal at the Olympic Games and a member of Team 100 of 2015. She is second in international goals of all time, with 184 – for men and women. Wambach is not only one of the greatest alligators of all time: she is one of the greatest football players that has ever existed on the planet, period.
There would be few better reminders for opposing teams on the show’s pedigree than having a statue of one of the sport’s biggest names outside of Diz for everyone to see the day of the game.
In line with the Wilson monument, it is difficult to ignore DeLisha Milton-Jones’ achievements. Milton-Jones, currently the lead coach of Old Dominion, took Florida to the NCAA tournament every year. In her final year, she was named an All-American and won the Wade and Honda Sports awards, given to the best female college basketball player in the first division.
Outside his university career, Milton-Jones played at the WNBA for 17 years, winning two championships with the Los Angeles Sparks. The three-time WNBA All-Star also won a gold medal with the US team in 2000 and 2008.
UF female athletes have been some of its most legendary figures. South Carolina has taken a big step in recognizing A’ja Wilson and, fortunately, more schools – including UF – are not far behind.
Contact River Wells at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @riverhwells
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