Basketball is the most popular sport in the US. It is loved and played by both girls and boys.

I have an 11 year old daughter who loves to play basketball and she plays in the local basketball league. Everytime we go to a store to buy a basketball jersey, we end up buying an NBA one because there are no WNBA jerseys instores. You can only order them through WNBA.com, whereas you can get a large variety of NBA jerseys in all major retail stores. We even have to buy the basketball shorts from the men's section as there are none in the girls' section.

I think it is very important that our girls see the names and faces of women athletes and their teams, that they admire, and be able to own the merchandise because it is amazing what that does to their morale. We know that despite the awareness, it is still hard for girls to be taken seriously in a sport. My daughter had to struggle  to be able to be taken seriously by boys in her school, because she wanted to play basketball and they wouldnt take her seriously till one day she proved to them that she was good at it and than they allowed her to play with them. Boys always feel that they are better than girls. We were at the park the other day and our group of girls were playing basketball and a group of boys came and took over the court. We had to go and tell them to use half court as girls were already playing. It occured to me at that time that if the girls are wearing a Maya Moore or a Lisa Leslie shirt or a Sparks shirt, it would remind the boys that girls are indeed involved in serious sports and are great at it too. It would also give the girls a belief and a boost that there are women athletes out there who had to go through what they are experiencing and they came out as winners. It can be a great confidence builder and motivator for all girls who aspire to be great athletes and may be go on to actually play for the WNBA!

I think we need to make an effort on our part to encourage and empower our girls to play sports and be recognized for it.  We need to create opportunities and environment for them to flourish and grow. I think its unfair to see just NBA players displayed all over and their teams and games getting the coverage and we dont hear much about the counterpart WNBA. I think asking the retailers to add the apparel is just a small step towards big changes that we can do for our girls, after all GIRLS PLAY BASKETBALL TOO!!!