Celebrating equality in sports?

In the same week we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX, we get this: A boy of Irish decent who is no longer allowed to play field hockey because his "skills are too good."

There really seems to be a double standard when it comes to this type of stuff, namely that ESPN puff piece on the knuckleball pitcher from, I believe, Florida.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/keeling-pilaro-male-field-hockey-player-banned-being-160713816.html

 

Oh for Christ's sake. There are still people in the world who don't understand the physiological differences between boys and girls?

 

Of course I understand the difference physically, but that's not the point. He's played in this league for two years, and he's already started the season. Just now they said he was too good and "could open the door for other boys." God forbid.

In the state I'm from, girls play tennis in the fall and boys play in the spring. If a girl plays soccer in the fall, she's allowed to play boys tennis in the spring. If a boy plays baseball in the spring, he can't play tennis with the girls in the fall. It's a pure double standard. That's the only point.

 

The boy in question is 4-foot-8, 82-pounds at 13. He's not exactly a bull in a china shop.

 

Allen Iverson is 6-0 and 160. Let's put him in the WNBA.

This is such an old, tired argument, like a year or so ago when the boys took over that girls' swim team and broke all the "records."

 

If the WNBA doesn't specifically forbid male players, then OK.

This youth league didn't ban the kid for two years. As the story says, he started playing varsity when he was 11. Now, suddenly, he's a threat to the league just because he's a boy?

 

So what do you suggest his parents tell him? Give up that girly sport and pick up a bat? Nice.

I have no problem with girls playing football, and I have no problem with boys playing field hockey. There are no other options when it comes to these particular sports.

 

Or lacrosse or soccer or something, yeah.

If you think girls playing football and boys playing field hockey are the same thing, you must be a charter member of Al Bundy's NO MAAM club. Anyway, I know all I need to know about your total lack of understanding about the issue, so, have a nice day.

 

If they don't offer a boys' field hockey team, they need to let him play.

If they have to let girls wrestle and play football then fair is fair.

I don't have any problem with girls wrestling or playing football, but they should let this kid play as well.

 

Indeed.

If you want total equality, you get total equality.

A girl joins the wrestling team and defeats a boy, it's "You go girl!"

A boy joins the girls' volleyball team and dominates, and "It's not fair! He's too good!"

It's a double-standard.

 

And, I seriously, seriously doubt it will result in lots of guys signing up to play field hockey.