Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images
With the news of Fox’s new show for the fall, “Pitch” announced this month, it’s hard not to think about this week’s spotlight. Mo’Ne Davis was part of the inspiration for the show and has already accomplished so much. That’s why this week’s spotlight is Mo’Ne Davis.
Even though Davis is only 14, her relationship with sports began much earlier. She was first noticed at the age of six, quickly becoming a part of Steve Bandura’s basketball team at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center in Southern Philadelphia. At the time, she was the only girl on the team. Davis also played soccer and baseball which ended up being what garnered her so much attention. Once Davis’ talent was noticed, she was moved to a private girls school in Philadelphia. She is currently on the baseball, soccer and basketball team.
She is best known because of her Little League career. Davis became the fourth American girl to play in the Little League World Series, the 18th overall and the first girl to get a win. In August 2014, she pitched a game for the Taney Dragons, becoming the first girl to pitch a winning game and the first to pitch a complete shutout. The game gave ESPN their highest Little League viewership yet all due to Davis’ presence.
Davis quickly became an overnight sensation after the shutout. She became the first Little League player to appear on a Sports Illustrated cover, appeared on the cover of the Philadelphia Inquirer for five straight days, was named to the espnW Impact25 List in 2014 and won the ESPY award for Best Breakthrough Athlete in 2015. In addition to all of that, Davis donated her jersey to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the subject of Spike Lee’s documentary, “I Throw Like A Girl.”
While Davis has certainly earned her fair share of awards and praise, her maturity is something that really makes her stand out from other talented athletes. One incident, in particular, speaks volumes about her. In 2015, a Bloomsburg University baseball player tweeted about Davis, having the audacity to refer to her as a “slut” which resulted in the player being banned from the team. Even after the tweet, Davis wanted to make it right for the player and she emailed the university to say that the ban should be lifted so that the player could chase his dream.
Even though Davis originally became famous due to baseball, her true passion is basketball. She has spoken openly about wanting to attend the University of Connecticut and playing for the legendary Geno Auriemma; eventually becoming a WNBA player. However, Davis is keeping herself very busy for now. She wrote her own memoir, has her own sneaker line for girls, is getting a Disney Channel movie made about her life and is still attending school.
At only age 14, Davis has already done so much for the sports world. Her impact doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon especially with her future plans. With the sports world full of so much drama, it’s nice to know that Mo’Ne Davis is genuine and that she’ll continue to be in the spotlight for good reason.
