‘Representation matters:’ Female high school athletes learn about careers for women in sports

TAMPA – A total of 200 female athletes from eight Hillsborough County high school flag football teams attended Tuesday’s networking event put on by ESPN commentator and Tampa resident Tiffany Greene.

The summit was held at Greene’s alma mater, Hillsborough High School.

“Representation matters, right? I wish I would have seen someone like myself standing up on a stage and just telling me about what was possible,” Greene told FOX 13. “Be able to see it and believe it and know that you can achieve it.”

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Greene, the first Black woman to serve as a college football play-by-play commentator on ESPN, invited other female professionals from the local sports industry for a panel discussion on Tuesday.

“This is an opportunity for (the student-athletes) to network, right? You got to start that early,” Greene said.

The female flag football players heard from:

• Toiaya Crawford, Director of Public Relations, Crackerjack Media
• Claire Lessinger, Vice President of Events, Tampa Bay Sports Commission
• Dr. Sheriece Sadberry, Licensed Psychologist and Owner of Optimal Moments
• Jessica Ventura, Director, Partnership & Community Activation, New York Yankees
• Jennifer Wagner, Associate Manager, ESPN Events

The goal was to introduce the high schoolers to sports-related careers, especially for those wanting to stay close to home.

“We’ve got the (NCAA) Women’s Final Four next year. We’ve had the (NCAA Men’s) Frozen Four. The NCAA volleyball championships were here this past December,” Greene said. “I mean, this is a hotbed of talent.”

There was plenty of talent in the room on Tuesday, including athletes from Steinbrenner, Brandon, and Robinson, who have regional semifinal flag football games Tuesday night.

A win would bring the teams one step closer to the FHSAA girls flag football state championships, which will be held at the Buccaneers’ AdventHealth Training Center for the very first time in May.

Greene’s event, called “Game On! Girls Summit,” was a partnership with the Bullard Family Foundation and Chase Bank, which also provided financial literacy workshops for the student-athletes.

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