The Manhattan borough president called on Mayor de Blasio to use the "opportunity for New York to recognize that heroes and role models come in all genders"
Correction appended, July 6
If one New York politician gets her wish, the U.S. Women’s soccer team might just get a hero’s welcome in the big apple.
Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer has written an open letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio asking him to plan a ticker-tape parade for the victorious team in the city’s “Canyon of Heroes,” a stretch of Broadway in downtown Manhattan where New York sports teams have been feted in the past.
“New York City has a strong history of honoring sports achievements in the Canyon of Heroes,” Brewer wrote, “but has never held a parade to honor a women’s team. Our newest soccer champions represent an opportunity for New York to recognize that heroes and role models come in all genders.”
Mayor de Blasio’s spokeswoman Karen Hinton responded in a statement to TIME: “The Mayor’s Office congratulates the U.S. Women’s World Cup Championship team on its tremendous achievement, and is currently exploring logistics and talking with the team and other partners about a possible ticker-tape parade.”
Recent honorees of ticker-tape parades in the Canyon of Heroes include the New York Giants for their Super Bowl wins in 2008 and ’12, and the New York Yankees for their World Series wins in 2000 and ’09.
Correction: The original version of the photo caption accompanying this story incorrectly identified the players pictured on the left and the right. They are Alex Morgan and Whitney Engen.
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