Growing up in Central Florida, Ashlyn Harris’ athletic icons were Shaquille O’Neal and Tony Hawk.
“I mean, Shaq was the man,” said Harris, a Satellite Beach native who now is a goalkeeper for the Orlando Pride and U.S. women’s national soccer team.
But the underlying reason for her admiration reflects a reality Harris, teammate Alex Morgan and professional women athletes around the country are fighting to change.
“Most of the people I looked up to at the time were male athletes ‘cause I never saw females on the TV,” Harris said.
A spotlight is on gender inequality in professional soccer right now after Morgan and four other high-profile national team members filed a federal discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against U.