For The US Women’s Hockey Team Posing Naked For ESPN Was Easy Compared To Previous Challenges

Back in March of this year the US Women’s National Hockey Team decided to boycott this year’s World Championship because they wanted equitable pay and better training conditions (see video above). So for six members of the hockey team to take off all of their clothes and pose nude for the 2017 ESPN “Body Issue” wasn’t even close to being the scariest thing they did this year.

Considering that the team has won gold or silver in every major tournament with the exception of the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won bronze, it’s no wonder that their call for being treated more fairly was supported by the players’ associations of the NBA, WNBA, MLB and the NHL. It’s also no wonder that USA Hockey agreed to a new agreement that freed the team up to eventually participate in the World Championship where, you guessed it, they won gold yet again.

Speaking with ESPN, forward Meghan Duggan had this to say about their appearance this year in the “Body Issue”…

I take so much pride in my body, and I take so much pride in the bodies of my teammates. We train day in and day out to put ourselves in the position to be the best athletes we can be. We’re certainly shaping our body in a certain way, but, at the same time, it’s propelling us through our sport. And that just makes me really proud.

Forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson also spoke about the boycott…

The biggest thing was equitable treatment. What you provide your men’s team should also be provided for the women’s program. It wasn’t about dollar signs. We were asking for a livable wage. Some of us had full-time jobs, and we’re trying to be elite athletes. That’s just not conducive.

“It’s an incredible time to be a female athlete. It’s a powerful movement. I’m proud to be a part of it,” said Duggan during the interview and there’s no doubt about that.