Around the country, young girls work their butts off to excel at many sports. One of these sports is softball. Softball players, like all athletes, dream of one day making it to the collegiate level. But then what?

Prior to 2008, softball players had aspirations to go beyond college level and play as professional as they could: playing for the United States Olympic Team. This, of course, was an honor for any athlete. However, after 2008, the Olympic Committee made an executive decision to pull softball and baseball out of the 2012 Summer Olympics. As a result, thousands of women who play softball are denied the opportunity to represent their country in an honorable position as recognizable athletes.

The controversial decision seemed to be centered on the fact that softball is a sport introduced by the United States. Furthermore, in each of the five Olympics that included softball, the United States Softball Team won gold.

The United States is not the only country with athletes who are disappointed by this decision. In addition to the United States, some of the top softball programs are found in the Canada, Japan, Australia, China, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands.

Softball is a way for girls to express themselves and grow athletically. Unfortunately, the popularity of softball has declined in relation to the exclusion of softball from the Olympics. If softball made its way back into the Olympics, softball might be able to make its way back into being one of the favorite sports for girls and young women in today’s society.

The power of softball goes hand-in-hand with gender equality. The 2012 Olympics were the first olympics where every participating country had at least one female athlete. That may seem like a big milestone, but in today’s society it still seems disappointing. Females need to be encouraged and given opportunities to participate in sports on a national level. Including softball in the olympics would be a step in the right direction. It would promote the importance of female athletes. Young girls around the world who watch the summer olympics watch the female athletes playing for their nations and are encouraged to work hard to gain their full potential.

The decision to eliminate softball and baseball may have seemed a good idea; however, trial and error proves that these sports play a vital role in today’s global societies. Bring back the sports and bring back the global recognition and love.