US second gentleman motivates young girls to take up sports

Second Gentleman of the United States of America Douglas Emhoff is on a mission to empower more young women to venture into sports.

Emhoff who is a self-confessed Los Angeles Lakers fan is on a three day working visit to Ghana with his Wife and Vice President of the United States of America Kamala Harris.

Emhoff was the special guest at a Jr NBA event held for young girls aimed at helping them develop their fundamental basketball skills through drills and mentoring from various coaches and some former players.

He took part in some of the dribbling drills as well as the shooting drills but most importantly had a words of encouragement for the young ladies who were present.

“This is a special day, this is historic. This is the first All Girls Jr NBA clinic and its happening right here in Ghana. Too often when we think about sports we think about men but that isn’t right.

“You can ask our WNBA champion here sport is for women as well. Gender discrimination in sports remains deeply entrenched and unfortunately tolerated around the world and that’s wrong and we know that sports play a vital role in addressing these gender inequalities.

“We know that when we lift up young girls and women in sports we bolster their confidence and self-esteem and it provides courage that you need to face the challenges of this world and the self-belief that you can do anything that you set your mind to. I want every girl out there to know this, we believe in you and you can play the game just like everyone else. Imagine yourself as a future Olympian or leading a team to a national championship,” he stated.