11
Thursday, July 28, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS
Finn, ‘M’ address
past inequalities
The senior delivered
new varsity jackets
to several alumni
By ORION SANG
Summer Managing Sports Editor
A glance at the two Michi-
gan varsity jackets lying side-
by-side was all
anyone
need-
ed to realize
something was
wrong.
One
jacket,
given to former
male athletes,
features a block
M
displayed
in the normal
hue of maize
that those who
watch Michigan athletics have
come accustomed to seeing. The
other jacket, given to former
women athletes who played on
varsity teams from 1973 to 1991,
features a smaller, darker block
M — along with sleeves that are
a different color from the first
jacket.
To former Wolverines, many
of whom brought up the issue
throughout the years, this dis-
crepancy
in
varsity
jackets
wasn’t just a matter of a differ-
ence in design — it was a matter
of equality.
Erin Finn, a senior track-and-
field athlete,
first
found
out about the
inequity
as
a
freshman
when
she
attended
a
panel on the
issue and was
immediately
drawn
in.
She persisted
in
remind-
ing people of the issue, and she
asked for something to be done.
And when Michigan Athletic
Director Warde Manuel decid-
ed that it was time for the ath-
letic department to correct its
past mistake, Finn was one of
the people contacted, because
of her previous efforts.
She was asked to write a let-
ter to the women who would
receive the new jackets, and
was also tasked with delivering
the new and improved varsity
jackets to local alumni starting
in July — something that was a
unique experience in itself.
“Most of them don’t cry,
but you can tell they’re trying
to hold back teary-eyed emo-
tion,”
Finn
said. “They get
this completely
joyful
smile.
They’re just so
happy to finally
have their jack-
et. It’s like now
they’re finally
accepted. It’s a
wonderful feel-
ing
for
them
and
you
can
tell that they’re just so excited,
so happy and so thankful that
Michigan did the right thing.”
Finn, one of several return-
ing veterans for the Wolverines
next year, used the opportu-
nity as a chance to educate her
teammates.
“I’ve been trying to let every-
one know that things haven’t
always been as good as they
have now,” Finn said. “Women
didn’t always have equal oppor-
tunities. I’ve just been remind-
ing everyone how lucky we
are and trying to get (people)
involved in helping hand out
the
jackets
so
they can see on a
first-hand level
how lucky we
really are.
“It’s
an
incredible
honor.
I
can’t
even
begin
to
express
my
thanks to these
women for set-
ting the prec-
edent of what it means to be a
Michigan woman and opening
these opportunities that we get
to experience today because of
what they went through. To be
able to thank them myself and
to see the joy on their faces
when they received their jack-
ets was so, so special. I can’t
even put it into words.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Erin Finn (left) was an integral part of the recent deliveries of new varsity jackets to former Michigan women athletes.
“They’re just so
happy to finally
have their
jacket.”
“I can’t even
begin to express
my thanks to
these women.”
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD