Teaming up on the Field to Strike out Cancer

When I began at YSC as CEO in 2011, I was blown away by my first Congressional Women’s Softball Game. I had the honor to throw out the first pitch with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I was starstruck by meeting women from the press corps and Congress that I’d only seen on television.

Over the last 8 years, this softball game on a Little League field in Washington, D.C., has become an example of what happens when we cross divides for the greater good. This bipartisan game raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to support young adults with breast cancer. The press corps and congressional representatives, often portrayed as bitter rivals, work together so that no young adult faces breast cancer alone.

The Congressional Women’s Softball Game is distinctly different than the men’s baseball game at its very core. The men of Congress play on their side of the aisle, Democrats versus Republicans. In contrast, when the women of Congress created a game, they decided to use it as a way to bridge differences and build relationships, instead of strengthening their divides. The women of Congress crossed the aisle. Democrats and Republicans play on the same team against a team of conservative and liberal press members.

To me, this softball game represents the best of our country - passionate teamwork collaborating for something greater than each of us.

As I reflect upon this year’s game, it’s hard not to highlight how many women are running for president in 2020. In 2016, Hillary Clinton showed all of us that a woman could be seriously considered for the highest office. No matter what our opinions about Hillary and her politics, her campaign made an impact so deep that we have six women running for president and 127 women in Congress right now!

A lot has changed in a short amount of time. All of us are proud of every woman - both in the press corps and in Congress, liberal or conservative - who have pushed themselves beyond what others might have thought possible and opened a door for other women to come behind them.

All photos: Jeff Malet