Why Emma Mcilroy Is Our Favorite Fan of the Week
The CEO of Wildfang talks to us about *that* photo and her favorite sports memories
“v impt”
-said the chat blinking in the corner of my screen. In it was a link to an OregonLive.com story featuring the picture above. After a week of hearing Donald Trump and Billy Bush’s hot mic conversation rattle around in my own brain, up and down my feeds and throughout the Internet, collecting a sea of shrugs along the way, I needed to know that more people were pissed off about sexual assault being chalked up to locker room talk. Then I opened this.
And met Emma Mcilroy, the woman behind it, outfitting athletes and helping them reclaim the locker room. In an email, Emma shared the story of these Wild Feminists with us:
“When we heard the statement excusing the nonconsensual grabbing of a women’s genitalia as ‘locker room banter,’ we at Wildfang were pretty upset. We knew it wasn’t a viewpoint that most of our male friends, or male athletes, would subscribe to. Sexual assault is something SO many women in our lives have been forced to deal with and it’s not something you can minimize, joke about and excuse. We reached out to some of the male athletes in our lives and discussed our hurt and frustration. That was when this idea of speaking out from their locker rooms came up. When we chatted with the Centennial High School (Gresham, OR) boys and their coach about it — they really wanted to be involved. The boys wanted to make it clear that in their locker room they treat women with respect.
Well, that makes me feel better about the future.
Emma is CEO and CMO of Wildfang International Inc., a Portland-based company for tomboy clothing (that also has some pretty great political cheat sheets if you’re considering not voting this year). Formerly at Nike and Barclays, Emma is sports-crazy and an avid runner, footballer, golfer and tennis player. She is today’s Favorite Fan of the Week… and you better believe we’re just as big fans of her.
What is your first sports memory?
My grandad and my dad got me my first golf club when I was 3 years old. It was a wooden 3 wood, sawed down, with a towel grip and I LOVED it. I’d take it out and swing in the garden all afternoon.
What is your favorite sports tradition with friends or the fam?
Oh man, where to start?! We scream at the Grand National, we cry at the Ryder Cup, we bite our nails while Ireland play in the Six Nations, and my brother and I fight like cat and dog when it comes time for Man Utd vs Liverpool — I’m a diehard LFC fan and he supports Man U. We are truly sports obsessed. It’s definitely how our family bonds.
Name your favorite sports moment ever…
Oh my god these Qs are tough. Okay, it comes down to two. And I don’t think I can pick. (Editor’s Note: We won’t make her.) The first was when Liverpool won the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005. They were three nil down and I almost left the bar. I was devastated. Then they came back to win on penalties. It was one of the best nights of my life.
The second moment that comes to mind was watching David Rudisha break the 800m world record in London. I was on the back bend at 200m mark and I was screaming out every split. I knew he was going to break the WR. It was the greatest race I’ve ever witnessed.
Name the sports star (living or dead) that you want to have beers with:
My brother James. He was top 10 in the world for 800m and now that I live in the USA, I don’t get to see him as much as I want. He is my favorite training partner and also my favorite person to drink with mainly because he has very low body fat and is a lightweight! Ha!
What is your walk-up song?
“Titanium” by Sia & David Guetta
How do you take your hot dog?
From Olympia Provisions with tons of onions and peppers.
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