Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Granato's Influence Goes Beyond Rink

Hockey Hall of Famer is a pioneer for all women's sports

By Sam Biddle,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2008 8:24 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – When Cammi Granato became the first woman selected for the US Hockey Hall of Fame this week, it was a testament to her undisputed skills on the ice. But the honor also is about her larger role in women's sports, writes ESPN's Terry Frei. "As you look around the US and note the increased competition opportunities for girls and women on every level—including in scholarship NCAA programs that help meet the Title IX obligations and, in some cases, are very popular—Granato has a hand in that."

And it didn't come easy for the two-time Olympian. "I remember her changing her name to Carl to play in a tournament because girls weren't allowed to play," recalls her brother Tony, a former NHL player and now a coach. "I saw her putting her ponytail under her helmet so nobody would know she was a girl. I saw all that."

Cammi Granato is now in the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
Cammi Granato is now in the US Hockey Hall of Fame.   (Getty Images)
Former New York Ranger Brian Leetch has been inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame alongside women's hockey pioneer Cammi Granato.
Former New York Ranger Brian Leetch has been inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame alongside women's hockey pioneer Cammi Granato.   (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brian Leetch, right, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame alongside women's hockey pioneer Cammi Granato.
Brian Leetch, right, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame alongside women's hockey pioneer Cammi Granato.   (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Granato makes history in the Hall
Vancouver Sun

 
NHL • Hall of Fame • women's sports • Title IX • Cammi Granato

More Newser Stories

Judge: Cheerleading Is Not a Sport

Yzerman, Hull, Robitaille, Leetch Headed to NHL Hall

Messier, Four Others Enter Hockey Hall
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne