Feminism flies high with the rise of the Golden State Valkyries

BREAKING BARRIERS

As the inaugural women’s basketball team for the Bay Area, the Valkyries have changed the culture and conversation surrounding the sport.

“It’s not as normalized to see a woman’s sports team in our area having success. But the Valkyries prove that wrong,” Elie W. ’26 said. “Seeing successful female athletes like the Valkyries breaking down those boundaries has been so impactful.”

“Teenage boy basketball fans have a god complex or ego issue in a way, where they don’t like to see women succeeding in sports traditionally dominated by men,” Mia B. ’27 said. “In our country, there’s a lot of sexism in sports. But I think with the rise of women’s teams, people are starting to put more attention towards disparities, like imbalances in pay.”

“It’s amazing to see women’s sports starting to be taken more seriously in the Bay Area,” Hana J. ’27 said. “I’ve even seen that change in the way teenage boys talk about sports.”

A DIVERSE TEAM

The Valkyries have united fans across teams and the Bay Area for one shared goal: to support the growth of the team. The fanbase, much like the team, is diverse,  coming from different races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and more.

“The Valkyries bring together people to set aside their differences and solely support a team,” Mia said. “Basketball teams are meant to represent their population, and that’s exactly what the Valkyries do. It makes the atmosphere that much greater.”

Mila W. ’27 also noted how the Valkyries facilitated stronger bonds with her basketball team and friends.

“It’s important to be able to find people who you have things in common with—especially with women’s sports. It feels really good to know you’re part of something bigger,” Mila said. “The Valkyries were a connection point for my team. Going to games with them made us better players and brought us closer.”

“The Valkyries show different demographics of young girls that they can do this,” Xochitl S. ’29 said. “Diversity is really important in any space, especially with women’s sports, because it’s hard to get light shown on it in the first place.”

“It’s undeniably a queer space and a space especially for women of color. I found community. I felt comfortable in the environment,” Elie said.

A ROLE MODEL FOR FEMALE ATHLETES

For Elie, Mila, Xochitl, and Mia, the Valkyries have become role models as women in team sports.

“There aren’t as many girls playing basketball, especially in this part of the Bay Area, as there could be. I’m hoping that they will get more girls playing basketball,” Xochitl said. “Because of seeing these successful women in such a close vicinity, I’ve been motivated to practice more and become a better player. ”

“They’ve been a really strong role model, especially in thinking about how to pick up the rest of your team,” Elie said. “Seeing professionals fail but continue to try is really important, which is something I’ve been thinking on and off court this volleyball season.”

“Seeing that young kids, even boys, having female models has been so refreshing,” Mila said.

For Mia, being a role model doesn’t just mean excelling as an athlete; being a good human being is just as important.

“They always have fundraisers, invite local girls’ teams, and feature fans on the Jumbotron,” Mia said. “They are bringing more awareness  to women’s sports, and taking a stance that we matter too.”

Mila also noted the importance of keeping in mind the true goal of the WNBA: “Eye catching as the game is, pitting women against each other is not the goal of the WNBA. As the fan base continues to grow, we need to steer away from that mentality,” she said. “The whole point is to uplift women and bring attention to women’s success, not their failures.”

The Valkyries are an expansion team of the Golden State Warriors, where they share the same stadium, ownership group, and, naturally, fans. But as much as the Golden State Warriors have increased the hype around Basketball, the Valkyries are paving their own path, especially for female athletes.

“The Warriors have done so much for basketball in the Bay Area, but so will the Valkyries. Fans need to appreciate what both teams are offering,” Hana said.