A Trailblazer in Women's Sports and Equal Rights

Shannon Miller found a love for hockey as a young girl watching NHL in her Canadian family home. She went on to be the winningest coach in NCAA as the head coach for University Minnesota-Duluth women’s hockey team. She also was the first female head hockey coach in the Olympics bringing home the silver medal in women’s hockey. During Shannon’s hockey career she faced discrimination for being a female playing and coaching sports as well as being openly gay. She was attacked from insiders and outsiders but kept her eye on the puck and her focus on her team’s goals. As she climbed up the coaching ranks things got more difficult for Shannon as the higher one climbs the more vulnerable she was to personal attacks to her reputation. Shannon also was a strong advocate for equality, funding and pay in women’s sports which also made her a target to bring down. Shannon was let go despite her enormous success, bringing into question the real reason for her dismissal.