‘What about us?’ How a trio of Masterman girls advocated for equal treatment and made history in the process

Editor’s note: This story has been updated after publication with comments from Masterman athletic director Vic Otarola.

Jocelyn Goldstein was nervous.

The pressure of a Public League playoff game, mixed with the chance to become the fastest girl in league history to score 1,000 points, made the 6-foot-2 Masterman center tense.

In the stands, her father, Jeff, who played basketball at Penn in the 1990s, sensed his daughter’s discomfort during the Feb. 13 matchup against visiting Dobbins Tech.

Her mother, however, Drexel Hall of Fame forward Jen MacNeill, knew the 17-year-old would find her way.

Perhaps that’s because Goldstein, who describes herself as “introverted,” had already conquered fear, doubt, and anxiety during a years-long quest for equality that included a Title IX complaint seeking more games and practices, though an independent law firm later found no evidence to substantiate the complaint.

“My wife, Jen, was like, ‘She’ll figure it out,’ ” Jeff said in a recent phone interview. “Jen was right. She came out and dominated the second half.”

Goldstein needed 29 points to reach 1,000 in what was the 47th game of her career.

The junior finished with 36, helping Masterman defeat Dobbins, 64-54, in the third round of the Pub playoffs before being eliminated by Imhotep in the next round. Masterman next plays March 8 in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs.

Audenried junior Shayla Smith was the previous record-holder. Smith reached the mark in her 49th game as a sophomore.

Before Smith, Shawnetta Stewart, who graduated from University City in 1996, starred at Rutgers, and played briefly in the WNBA, set the record in 54 games as a sophomore.

“It feels really good,” Goldstein said in a phone interview. “I put in a lot of work, and it definitely would not have been possible without my coach and teammates.”

But because it took three years, difficult conversations with adults in power, lawyers, hours of research, numerous Right to Know requests, a coaching change, and a supportive nudge from a savvy teammate just to approach the same number of games Smith reached as a sophomore, the accomplishment seems somewhat bittersweet.

“Honestly, it was just mind-blowing that it got to this point and that there was so much resistance,” Goldstein said.

“We wanted the same amount of games [as the boys’ team], access to practice time, and, really, our team is [now] starting to see improvements,” she added later. “Still, across the Public League, so many girls’ teams play so many fewer games compared to the guys’ programs and compared to girls’ programs in the suburbs. So it’s been really frustrating.”

During her freshman and sophomore seasons, Goldstein said, she and a few teammates lobbied then-coach Vic Otarola via email and in person for more games and practices.

Otarola, who stepped down as coach days before this season began, remains the school’s athletic director. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding this story. In August, an independent law firm concluded that the allegations in the Title IX complaint were unsubstantiated, citing a lack of evidence. In October, a subsequent appeal upheld the initial finding.

After this story published on Thursday morning, Otarola responded via an email: “We are very proud of Jocelyn to have achieved such an impressive feat during her junior year — and it’s even more fitting to have done so right before we head into Women’s History Month ... She is leaving a legacy for not only Masterman female student-athletes, but for female-athletes across Philadelphia. Congratulations to Jocelyn and her family.

“We understand the concerns voiced about the way the season was handled — our coaches, student-athletes and their families put a lot of time and commitment into athletic activities, and it’s frustrating and disappointing for everyone involved anytime games or practices are canceled, regardless of the reason. We have been in contact with the Masterman team and players about their concerns and will continue striving to provide the best opportunities for all of our student-athletes as they imagine and realize any future they desire.”

As a freshman, Goldstein said, she was disappointed to learn the girls’ team had just 12 scheduled games. In contrast, her older brother, Sebastian, a senior on Masterman’s boys’ team at the time, had at least 17 scheduled.

Pandemic-related problems later scuttled half of the girls’ games that season. Goldstein said several practices also were canceled for various reasons, and those that were held often were an hour or less.

“We just kept saying to Jocelyn, ‘You have to work it out with your coach,’ ” MacNeill said. “ ‘You have to tell him you want more games. You have to raise your voice. You can’t be shy ...’ ”

Goldstein said that she tried several times, but that Otarola wasn’t receptive to her requests.

Eventually, at her daughter’s request, MacNeill, who runs a youth basketball program in the city, called Otarola and volunteered to help find make-up games.

She said he declined and insisted that he wasn’t “required to reschedule games.”

Because the team could sometimes go nearly a week between practices, MacNeill said she would occasionally find an open gym so the girls at least could work out on their own.

Masterman finished 6-1 that season before losing to Washington in the Pub playoffs. The team played only two games the previous season because of COVID-19. Before that, Masterman had finished 2-9 overall and 0-9 in Pub play.

Goldstein said she wanted to build on the team’s success but was disappointed to see another schedule around 12 games before her sophomore season.

» READ MORE: Dobbins’ Sam Thomas reeling after being ruled ineligible: ‘It feels like I’m cursed’

MacNeill suggested that her daughter put her requests in writing this time. So Goldstein and fellow junior Sophia Brunelli crafted an email requesting more games and more opportunities for practice.

Otarola, Goldstein said, met with them in person and suggested that if the team showed it was “committed,” he would consider adding more games.

In Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, demonstrating commitment isn’t a prerequisite for equality.

So Goldstein said she consulted Masterman’s equity coordinator and then met with several administrators in the building.

In addition to more games and practices, Goldstein and her teammates also wanted a more positive environment in which they could feel free to communicate.

“I would say I’m introverted around people I don’t know,” Goldstein said, “but this was just such a huge issue that I felt like it definitely needed to be addressed and I wasn’t going to hold back on that.”

The family filed a Title IX complaint that fall.

Eventually, three games were added that season, bringing the girls’ total to about 15. In contrast, the boys’ team had 20.

Issues such as practice opportunities and a more hospitable environment, the Goldsteins said, also weren’t addressed.

Goldstein said she was hopeful that change would occur this season.

Last year, the team won its division for the second consecutive time, won two playoff games, finished 18-2 overall, and went undefeated in Pub play (14-0). Its roster also grew from nine players to 12 thanks largely to Goldstein and her teammates encouraging more girls to try out.

But when the season began, Goldstein saaid, the team’s schedule was still around 12 to 15 games.

This time, several members of the team attached their names to an email, which included specific goals for games played and practices held. They also specifically requested a dialogue.

When Otarola responded, “thank you for your email,” without offering further discussion, senior Naiima Jabati waited more than two weeks and then asked for clarity.

Jabati’s email, which The Inquirer has obtained, read:

“Over the past two years, our team has tried to express our desire to be taken seriously as girls, as athletes, and as a program. Your lack of meaningful response to our simple requests mirrors your treatment of the program over my first three seasons of participation. As a senior, I am hopeful that my final opportunity to represent our school on the basketball team is taken seriously. If you are on board with our vision, please let us know. Conversely, if you have an alternate view, please take this time to share it with us all.”

The email was copied to other administrators at Masterman and at least one official within the school district. It also included previous correspondences with the coach dating back to 2022.

“To me,” MacNeill said, “I think [Jabati] is the hero because I think her email changed the game.”

Less than two weeks later, Otarola stepped down as the girls’ coach. Nichole Geiger, dean of students for Masterman’s middle school, took over.

Geiger, who added multiple games during bye weeks this season, also has been the boys’ varsity soccer coach for the last six years.

Asked why she advocated for her team when other girls had been reluctant in the past, Jabati said she had, for years, noticed more attention paid to boys’ sports inside the school and wanted to change that in her senior year.

“And for us,” she said, “it’s like, ‘What about us?’ ”

She plans to study psychology in college and added that this experience has taught her something about herself.

“Throughout my whole life,” Jabati said, “I’ve never seen myself as someone who could be a change-maker. But I think speaking out, I guess you could say it has boosted my confidence, and maybe shown that I am able to do stuff that can translate outside of basketball.”

Goldstein expressed similar sentiments.

Her fear, though, is that similar things are still happening to girls’ teams around the Pub.

For example, Goldstein stopped playing softball after her freshman year at Masterman, she said, in part because the girls often played games on grass soccer fields with bases arranged in a diamond, while boys used a proper baseball field.

Last year, a parent of a Central softball player, who declined to be interviewed, filed a Title IX complaint amid similar circumstances.

Goldstein also praised Audenried girls’ coach Kevin Slaughter, saying his program, which won its second straight Pub title last Saturday, “has been such a model for what the Public League should strive to look like.”

In the last two seasons, the Lady Rockets have played 26 and 29 games, respectively, including Pub and PIAA playoffs, according to MaxPreps.

» READ MORE: At Audenried, Senaya Parker and Shayla Smith have teamed up to ‘take over the world together’

Still, Goldstein fears opportunities could still be lost to future generations the way they might have been lost to previous players.

Andrea Garner is still the only Masterman graduate to receive a full scholarship to a Division I program.

Garner graduated in 1996 before starring at Penn State and playing in the WNBA. Yet, Garner never scored 1,000 points at Masterman. Goldstein wonders if that’s because Garner didn’t play enough games.

Reached via phone, Garner, who was an athletic director in the Pub for about a decade, said she is ecstatic for what Goldstein has achieved on and off the court.

“I think what Jocelyn and her family did is awesome,” Garner said. “I’m glad that she advocated for herself. That’s the type of student-athletes that Masterman gets.”

Later, Garner, 45, added: “Sometimes as a player or as a player’s family, if you don’t fight for more games, you won’t get them.”

Garner isn’t sure how many points she scored in high school. She said her freshman year at Masterman was just the girls’ basketball program’s second year as a varsity sport. With a chuckle, Garner added that she couldn’t be sure if she even played 47 games in her entire career.

Garner now lives in Portland, Ore., and works for Nike but returns to Philly nearly every month to run her nonprofit, Inspiring Minds of Greater Philadelphia, which will host its annual youth conference March 9 at Penn.

Garner, who played on the Penn State team that went to the Final Four in 2000, said she wishes she had been invited to her alma mater to teach girls about Title IX and advocacy.

As happy and proud as Goldstein is of her 1,000-point achievement, her mind seems focused on something similar.

“I would [tell younger generations] definitely to speak up against any inequality you see because I think for a long time differences might have been noticed, but maybe people didn’t speak up or try to make a change,” she said. “So I would say if you want a change to be made and you want the same experience and opportunities as others … you need to speak up and try to work with a trusted adult to create change.”