When I was ten years old I received the most wondrous Christmas gift from my brother Johnny. It was a basketball and I was ecstatic. Even better was that he told me that I could play basketball with his friends–which was most unusual back then.

This was before the Title 1X law was enacted that included gender equality in sports. Johnny was way ahead of his time. We played many basketball games together with his male friends. I was a tomboy and was allowed to be one. Johnny was very athletic and loved sports. He was inclusive which taught me a very important early life lesson.

Thank you, Johnny.