Judge Sylvia Pressler passed away earlier this week, and while the name may not be familiar to you, yet what she did for little American girls has had a lasting impact in our continuing quest for gender equality. In 1973, as a hearing examiner with New Jersey’s Division on Civil Rights, Pressler ruled that Maria Pepe, a 12-year-old NJ girl should have been allowed to play on a Little League team.
“The institution of Little League is as American as the hot dog and apple pie,” Pressler wrote in her ruling. “There is no reason why that part of Americana should be withheld from girls.”
Little League’s initial forward-thinking reaction? They believed the ruling to be “conceived in vindictive and prejudicial fashion of the worst kind.” It took them a year to amend its charter to include little girls.
In 1995, Pressler also struck a blow for gay equality when she she extended the legal rights of gay couples, allowing a woman to adopt her partner’s 3-year-old twins.
Pressler was not only a legal trainblazer on behalf of baseball-bat-wielding little girls, she was also a living testament to hard work and feminine gumption. Beginning in the late 60s, Judge Pressler labored on an annually updated book about the New Jersey court system.
Photo via Washington Post
RIP Sylvia Pressler. Being in team sports as a young girl made me learn a ton about getting through life obstacles. Wouldn’t have been able to play without this lady.