With the Summer Olympics kicking off today, Secret Deodorant has teamed with WNBA star and stellar media personality, Chiney Ogwumike to detail the importance of representation and supporting women’s sports.
Currently, young girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys due to underfunding and underrepresentation. In response, Secret has developed the “Just #WatchMe” campaign to empower young girls and athletes by placing them in murals leading up to the Olympic Games, encouraging the viewing audience to support them.
“Representation truly matters and working with Secret they’re great teammates because they understand the realities of what young girls go through,” Ogwumike said to The Source. “Questioning yourself, always being compared to the boys. And now we’re at a point in society where we’re celebrating women, owning their own spaces. And sports is a great example of that competence and translating to the highest positions. Especially in our country.
“I think that being able to work with Secret and show representation, whether it is raising money for the women’s sports foundation or showcasing athletes, it really is great because young girls need to see there are women out there that were just like them that went through the same challenges and are still here and that they should still push through their situations. We want to see everyone win and it takes a team effort, especially when it’s, you know, women in sport.”
Ogwumike will have a close eye on the women’s basketball matchups. In addition to supporting women athletes across the world, Ogwumike will be supporting her younger sister, Erica Ogwumike, who is currently in Tokyo representing the nation of Nigeria. On Instagram, Erica shared an image of her arrival with the hashtag #ForMySisters. The first matchup for Ogwumike and Nigeria will be against the powerhouse USA basketball team full of WNBA stars and legends.
“Our family is all about seizing the day and maximizing opportunities and it doesn’t matter who is in front of us, we’re going to compete at the highest level,” Chiney Ogwumike says about the matchup.
Most notably heading into the worldwide sporting event is the threat of coronavirus, however, Ogwumike feels all athletes will be ready, evident by how the women of the WNBA prepared for this current season.
“We had a season in a bubble and we’re having a season right now in the WNBA with multiple protocols. I think athletes have adjusted to the realities of what the world is. If there’s an opportunity for us to be Olympians, I think every athlete will seize that opportunity.”
