DANA POINT, Calif. -- After making history as the first female athlete to sign a million-dollar contract in an American women's professional league, pitcher Monica Abbott plans to also lead the charge with softball's return to the Olympic stage -- confirming Friday that she hopes to compete for Team USA at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Abbott, 31, made the announcement in a conversation with Julie Foudy at the espnW: Women + Sports Summit, where the two discussed pay equity in women's sports and Abbott's million-dollar contract with the Houston-based Scrap Yard Dawgs of National Pro Fastpitch. Abbott signed the groundbreaking contract this past May.
"If I can still sling the rock pretty well, I would like to play," Abbott said about playing at the Tokyo Olympics. "I was the youngest player in 2008, and I would probably be the oldest in 2020. ... It would be my honor."
Abbott, the 2007 USA Softball collegiate player of the year and a three-time NPF champion, is the NCAA Division I softball career leader in wins, strikeouts, shutouts and innings pitched. She won a silver medal with Team USA the last time softball was included in the Olympic program. In August, softball (and baseball) were voted into the 2020 Olympics -- along with newcomers karate, skateboarding, surfing and climbing.