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Women’s soccer gets assist from Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant

Sydney Leroux and the US women’s national soccer team are ranked No. 1 in the world.AP

Did you see the picture of soccer star Sydney Leroux's legs? The one she took after a game on artificial turf at Somerville's Dilboy Stadium. The one where it looks like Leroux dragged an industrial strength cheese grater across her shins until they bled. The one where black and blue marks cover her kneecaps. The one she tweeted with the caption, "This is why soccer should be played on grass!"

Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant certainly noticed the snapshot. In mid-August, the NBA stars shared the black, blue, and bloody image with the many fans who follow them on social media. Bryant added the hashtag "ProtectTheAthlete" to his Leroux tweet and linked to a New York Times article about the ongoing artificial turf war in women's soccer. On his Facebook page, Durant wrote, "C'mon now FIFA u can't have our women playing on turf. @sydneyleroux I got ya back."

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Thanks to Bryant and Durant, the picture and turf war made national headlines. And in social media circles, Leroux's legs went viral.

As much as women's sports want to stand on their own, they can use more assists from male athletes. A tweet from a five-time NBA champion or reigning NBA MVP can almost instantaneously raise the profile of women's games. When Leroux's snapshot first appeared nearly 20 months ago, it rippled through the women's soccer community, but not far beyond. So, while the picture made a compelling case against plans to play the 2015 Women's World Cup on artificial turf, Bryant and Durant drew a wider audience to the issue.

Bryant's comments in this column will likely draw more eyeballs and clicks than usual for a story about women's sports. It's the way the game is played. In his 19th NBA season, Bryant gets that.

"It's important for people who have that platform and have that stage to help other athletes get that platform and that stage," said Bryant, who talked women's soccer before Friday night's Lakers-Celtics game at TD Garden. "We must support each other. We're all athletes. We all share a common passion and focus for what we do."

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Then, recalling Leroux's picture, he added: "Her legs, that's just brutal. That's taking a beating, especially for somebody who plays as hard as she does."

That said, for female athletes who train and play as hard as their male counterparts, who make themselves accessible to fans and reporters in ways their male counterparts never would, who sometimes go without salaries on pro teams, I understand it's frustrating to see the impact male athletes make with a few keystrokes. But for all the progress made in women's sports, that's the reality. Better to work with it than begrudge it.

Leroux, a forward on the US women's national team, talked to Bryant, a passionate soccer fan, about the turf war. They discussed the unfairness of women playing the most important games of their careers on shin-scraping, knee-bruising artificial turf, while men compete on forgiving grass during World Cups. After listening to Leroux, Bryant wanted to take the turf controversy beyond women's soccer followers.

"I felt it was important to speak up and say something about it," said Bryant. "It's just not right. It's important to fight for those rights of equality. We must get to a point where we start identifying each other as athletes, not as male or female."

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I'm not sure we'll ever reach that brave new world of athletes being just athletes. At the same time, I'm not surprised that a male athlete of Bryant's stature believes female athletes deserve more attention for what they face and accomplish on the field.

It helps that Bryant has two daughters who are big Leroux fans. Also, through sponsorship deals and agents and international competitions, professional male athletes often get to know top female athletes and their skills better than the average sports fan. And that familiarity often breeds respect and support.

In the interest of full disclosure, Leroux endorses the BodyArmor sports drink that counts Bryant as an investor. His tweet of Leroux's legs promoted her as a BodyArmor athlete. But the message's dual purpose should not be a distraction. Again, it's how the game is played.

However male athletes connect with female athletes — tweets, e-mails, sponsorships, charity events, NHL players showing up at women's hockey games at the Sochi Olympics — it can present women with valuable opportunities to promote their sports and their talents.

In early October, two-time US Olympic hockey player Hilary Knight joined the Anaheim Ducks for practice. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, who's never seen a women's hockey game live, told reporters he "was really pleasantly surprised at her skill" and complimented her shot. Meanwhile, with an assist from the Ducks, Knight drew attention to women's hockey, generating national headlines and a flurry of tweets, and gaining at least one new fan in Boudreau.

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Female athletes can always use more experiences like that. Or more high-profile male athletes attending women's games or simply paying attention to what female athletes do and spreading the word. It doesn't need to be a bold initiative like the NBA's launch of the WNBA in 1996, though it would be nice if women's professional hockey and women's professional soccer received that kind of support.

But knowing the effect of social media messages by Bryant and Durant, a more grassroots approach would be welcome, too. Consider this: Knight plays for the Boston Blades, the local women's pro hockey team, in relative obscurity. The Bruins could pick up an easy assist by going to a home game at UMass-Boston, and announcing their plans to be there beforehand.

Bryant mentioned that he enjoys playing in the Olympics because it offers the chance to talk with other athletes and take in other events.

"I don't care if you're playing soccer, volleyball, swimming, archery," he said. "We all understand what it takes to make those sacrifices and be at that level. When you communicate with each other, you start seeing all those similarities. So, we must support each other no matter what."

This summer, Bryant traveled to Brazil for the men's World Cup. Next summer, he plans to be in Canada for the women's World Cup, even if it's played on turf.


Fair Play is a regular column that explores the challenges girls and women face in today's sports world, as well as their athletic accomplishments. Shira Springer can be reached at springer@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShiraSpringer.

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