After 44 years of honoring female athletes, male athletes should be included in a prestigious award that honors their athletic abilities, too.

According to the Minneapolis Athena, in 1972, the Sports and Attraction Committee and the Women’s Division of Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce created the Athena Award in hopes of correcting the oversight of female athletes.

Every year, participating high schools choose one girl who demonstrates the qualities of the Greek goddess Athena. It is time to also acknowledge male athletes who work hard.

The Minneapolis Athena originally intended to highlight female athletes because of their lack of acknowledgment.

However, since the 1970s, female athletics have acquired a greater sphere of viewers in many sports. According to CNN, the WNBA’s team sponsorships rose more than 10 percent from the prior season in 2012.

The Athena Award creates the assumption that the student body should celebrate female athletes only around the time of the award instead of year-round.

Only awarding it to a single female might create the assumption that recognizing female athletes only falls under a certain time of year or category, when the Athena award winner is announced. In reality, support should be year-round.

This ideology puts girls in a different category than boys and illustrates their inferiority.

By including men in the award, equality of both genders increases through promoting equal athletic recognition of each side.

The award excludes males from recognition of their achievements. By creating a school-wide male athletic award, the competition for the award would be more inclusive.

Many male athletes work very hard in their sports seasons and deserve to have an award similar to the one available to girls. Both sexes deserve equal recognition and should be treated equally.

When female Park seniors win the Athena Award, they win more than just something to put on a college resume. They wins acknowledgment for participating and excelling in athletics — something the public wouldn’t recognize before 1972. The Athena Award is specific to girls because boys don’t need more empowerment.

Before Congress passed Title IX in 1972, women were not encouraged to participate in athletics. Title IX is a law that requite gender equality for men and women in every educational program that receives federal funding, including sports.

The award is specific in that it can only be given to girls, but this does not discriminate against men. Men receive plenty of attention without an award.

The Athena Award supports girls exploring new territory traditionally occupied by boys. Popular sports such as basketball were once strictly limited to only male participants.

Recently, Minnesota’s women’s basketball team, the Lynx, had more wins than Minnesota’s men’s team, the Timberwolves. However, according to the team website, tickets for a Timberwolves game cost significantly more than tickets for a Lynx game.

Discrimination reaches beyond salaries and ticket cost. In 2013, the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation reported that women’s sports received 7 percent of TV coverage. Women can participate, but are far from reaching the equality they deserve.

There is still bias in global athletics. Women are fighting for a chance to do something they love. Breaking barriers takes courage, as recognized through the Athena Award. As a Park tradition, the Athena Award builds girls up, congratulating them on accomplishments once considered impossible.

The award shows how far society has come regarding women. Having an award that builds boys up is not necessary. The Athena Award encourages girls to follow their dreams.