Malcolm Faison
Throughout his time at Seven Hills, Malcolm Faison has established himself as a talented multi-sport athlete. The senior has spent all four years on the varsity basketball and track teams, and maintained an incredibly successful athletic career thus far, boasting an impressive collection of MVC titles and school records.
Faison reports facing no struggles or challenges within sports as a result of his gender. In fact, he feels Seven Hills makes a great effort to maximize opportunities for all student-athletes. However, he notes that the varsity girls basketball team struggles to achieve game attendance comparable to that of their male counterparts, as is true of many high schools in the region. Faison attributes this discrepancy in part to the differences in opportunities each team receives; the boys are fortunate enough to compete in out-of-season travel tournaments and scrimmages. While the school has made attempts to address this issue by scheduling special events when the girls play, Faison believes more can be done.
He, along with other members of the boys basketball team, show up regularly to support the girls varsity team, with the intention of increasing “the hype” around girls basketball. This year, in particular, he feels that the atmosphere around women’s sports at Seven Hills is changing for the better, citing senior night for the girls volleyball team as one shining example. “That was the loudest the gym has ever been,” said Faison. “I think [the students] did a really good job coming out to support them and hopefully we can do that for some of these other games.”
From his perspective, women’s sports, professional and local, are just now beginning to gain popularity. While in the past stereotypes labeled female leagues as less competitive, times are starting to change. At Seven Hills, Faison feels the course of action for addressing the lingering stigmas associated with women’s sports is fairly straightforward. According to him, increased recognition and celebration of female student-athletes is crucial to reshaping the school’s culture.
