Girls and Women in Sports panel connects with audience

NEW YORK --The young girls in the audience at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and their bold questions to the panel of five women served as confirmation to Kathryn Tappen and Kim Davis that what they're doing to promote women and girls in sports is having an impact.

"The questions just got better and better and better," said Davis, NHL executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs. "You could tell that they felt empowered."
Tappen, from NBC Sports, and Davis were joined by Hockey Hall of Famer Angela James, USA national women's ice hockey player Hannah Brandt and Kristin Bernert, the executive vice president of MSG Sports, for a panel discussion in front of 300 people during Girls and Women in Sports Night sponsored by the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
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A panel featuring Tappen, NBC Sports chief marketing officer Jenny Storm, Princeton University director of athletics Mollie Marcoux and Squarespace chief marketing officer Kinjil Mathur preceded the hockey-centric panel and focused on women gaining a voice and power in the professional world.
The discussions were part of the Rangers and Madison Square Garden's celebration of the 33rd annual Girls and Women in Sports Day.
The Rangers also had Brandt drop the puck in the ceremonial opening face-off with two girls in the Junior Rangers program before their game against the Boston Bruins.
The Rangers came out of their tunnel onto the ice flanked by girls serving as flag bearers. A group of six girls from youth hockey affiliates associated with the Rangers joined New York's starting lineup on the ice for the National Anthem, which featured an all women color guard. Girls youth hockey team players played a shinny game between the first and second periods.
But it was at the panel discussion prior to the game that had Tappen and Davis particularly excited.
It was there that they were asked about challenges they've overcome to get to their positions, if they ever felt they were inferior to the boys, when they have felt the most vulnerable, if they'd ever leave the sports world to pursue another passion, and what else they could be doing to promote gender equality in sports.

Almost all the questions were asked by young females, except for the one father who asked Brandt what his 7-year-old daughter has to do to break the barrier and be the first female to play for the Rangers.
"I don't think it's too far off to say there will be a female player in the NHL," Brandt said. "I think it could happen."
Tappen was blown away by the questions.
"These are very vulnerable girls [listening] to what we have to say," she said. "They are listening to people who they look up to. A lot of the times that opportunity doesn't present itself to little girls across the United States.
"There was something on that panel from all those individuals for everyone in that audience, whether they raised their hand to ask a question or they leave here tonight thinking about something that was said or something that was asked that they can grow from."
Much of the discussion was focused on how far women have come in the sports world and how much ground still must be gained.
"One thing that I still find is we're still justifying why we play hockey," said James, who in 2009 joined Cammi Granato as the first two women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. "If you look in here, you look everywhere around North America, I don't think we need to justify."
Davis echoed that sentiment, saying sports, particularly the NHL, is ripe for the kind of change it can experience and how it's time to provide the access to showcase the positive contributions women have made and are making.
"When you look at this group, if that doesn't inspire you to know that the work is important than I don't know what else could," Davis said. "Watching and listening to these young girls, I was truly inspired."