Abby Wambach’s Cannonball Into Poppie’s Pond Was For Gender Equality
Now-retired professional U.S. soccer player Abby Wambach, in an impulsive display of celebration for winning the ANA Inspirational Pro-AM tournament trophy on Wednesday, cannonballed into Poppie’s pond.
With Abby Wambach was reality show celebrity Caitlyn Jenner and two LGPA players Danielle Kang and Marina Alex, all making the group for the Pro-AM..
The LGPA is an American organization for professional female golfers which has five championships they hold every year. One of them is the ANA Inspiration event, which is the first one of the year.
Since 1988, it has been traditional for the tournament winner to jump into the pond. Last year the trophy went to Brittany Lincicome.
As part of the schedule, the ANA Inspiration runs from March 28 until the third of April, and a leap into the pond is on the schedule for the last day of the event. So many reports are stating that Abby Wambach’s jump into the pond is premature, but there are other reports that it was a bet between her and Danielle, as she was the one who made hole 18 on the course.
According to the ANA Inspiration site, the Pro-Am is the only day of the week’s event when cameras are allowed on the course, and people are able to get photos and autographs with their favorite players.
This was considered to be a rematch, as members from both teams have played with each other before in a real soccer match for the World Cup, according to the Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) site.
Player Danielle King recorded and tweeted out Abby Wambach’s jump.
? Courtesy of the @GolfChannel ? @AbbyWambach @Caitlyn_Jenner @colepensantiwho @TomAbbottGC @Doxy82 pic.twitter.com/ns9qtzsZ4p
— Danielle Kang (@daniellekang) March 31, 2016
One of the first sources to report on the event was USA Today, covering the first moments with Caitlyn starting off a bit lukewarm saying that she was a little too far to the right, before she sank her second shot “on the par-4 hole for an eagle.”
Since Abby Wambach retired from soccer, she has become an avid golfer much like Jenner, who was announced as an addition to the ANA on Tuesday. Here is a footage of Abby Wambach and Caitlyn talking about golf and the olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJcVNfw76rA
The Press Enterprise goes into more details of the event where it explains how the various programs included this year — with the addition of Caitlyn Jenner — is “to draw attention to women’s issues, looking to empower both the athlete and the person in each individual.”
In the same week while attending an event at Ohio State University, according to a report originally published by The Lantern, Abby Wambach announced that she would donate her brain to concussive research studies and was with Megan Rapinoe who said she would do the same.
Both are known to have suffered some concussions during their times on the field.
All of this, along with her celebratory stunt at the event, also happens at the same time that the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team makes another announcement — that they are suing the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay, according to ESPN.
The article says that the lawsuit, filed Thursday, was led by five of the team’s players on behalf of the entire team, but at the time of this writing, Abby Wambach’s name is not on the list.
Megan Rapinoe is, however, one of the names, but Abby Wambach did officially tweet about it.
U.S. women's soccer team sends powerful message https://t.co/alMwcwH1ng via @USATODAY #proud
— Abby Wambach (@AbbyWambach) March 31, 2016
The article explains the new lawsuit along with an ongoing case against the federation with unions over collective bargaining rights.
[Featured image by Gerald Herbert | AP Photo]
