Women can't play sports!

We here at The Thurber Brigade wish to apologize for that title, but Coach Jay gave us a six pack and 50 bucks to let him take over the blog once again, so what could we say? Take it away Coach Jay.

Hey there gang, It's Coach Jay again and I'm here to blog about something that on first blush may seem controversial, but shouldn't be. Women in sports. It wasn't that long ago (1950s or 60s) that people, yes, women as well as men, believed the title of this blog. It's why I often state that women take for granted where they are at in the sports world.

Let's look back a bit at what it was like in “the old days.” Coach Jay took a “History of Sport” class from the legendary Dottie Lovett at The University of Texas. She was a tough as nails lady, but once you got past that barrier she put up, you found her to be understanding and kind. Anyway, in the course she enlightened us about what women faced over the years.

For example, at UT there are all sorts of service tunnels that run underground. Women would have to change into their gym outfits in the women's dorm, then walk through one of those tunnels to the women's gym. Heaven forbid they were seen outside in those outfits. Which were just longish skirts and a shirt. 

Whew, were those things provocative. These were skimpier, I guess, than the outfits the genteel women wore in the old days to play tennis. Those outfits were basically street clothes (full dress, hat, etc.) with the only nod to movement being they didn’t wear high heels.

The underlying philosophy about women playing sports in the old days was that they needed to be reserved so that they may not damage themselves. You know, in the reproductive realm. It was feared that if they jumped too much, they might not be able to have children because they could injure their, ahem, private parts. 

Well, except for black women. That was okay. So, minorities were allowed to take part in track and field events long before white women could. Yep, racism was and continues to be a major element of sports.

There are more interesting aspects of women sports in the past, such as when they were finally allowed to play basketball, they could only run to half court. So, there would be a group of women on one side of the court defending, then if they got the ball back they had to pass it to the group of women in the other half who played offense. But we won't go into more details now, just be aware that it's been a long, hard slog to get to where we are today. Which still isn’t too great.

But let's move on to some of the points I want to bring up. 

“You throw/run like a girl.”

Do you know how to juggle? I do. I'm not blessed with any great dexterity or coordination. But I now can juggle because someone taught me. My friend one day showed off his prowess and told me I could learn. He started with two balls, showed me how to do that and then we moved to three. I was terrible. He said this was normal. You just have to keep practicing. And so I did. I stood in my bedroom, juggling above the bed and kept failing miserably for some time. Then, after weeks of lousy throwing balls around, something clicked and I was able to do it for a few seconds. Then a minute. Then several minutes. As I kept doing it, I got better.

The quote used above was a common expression until just a few years ago. Except for a few exceptions, it was true. Most women ran and threw the ball like Daffy Duck. The reason was because they were not allowed to run or throw except at odd moments. Just like me who couldn't juggle, they couldn't do these simple skills skillfully. Think of it like this: in the old days, little boys would go outside and play pickup baseball games, or play tag. Little girls on the other hand would go outside and have a tea party with their friends.  If the weather was bad, they might stay inside and play with their dolls. The boys would switch to football as it's more fun in muddy conditions.

Wolowitz tries to throw a baseball in "The Big Bang Theory"

So if a girl was ever handed a baseball and told to throw it, well,  she'd look uncoordinated. She had no practice. One of my favorite shows is the “Big Bang Theory.” In several episodes, the guys try to play sports and it's hilarious. They're nerds! They didn't play sports when they were little. So, different gender, but same result. If you don't do a physical move over and over, you will look goofy trying to do it.

There were women's sports leagues early on,
but they were considered novelty items

This began to change. Slowly. In the 1950s there was a crack in the door as more girls were allowed to try sports. The 60s had an even bigger jump as women (and minorities) began to get more rights. Believe it or not thanks to Richard Nixon women began to really get to experience sports beginning in the 70s. He signed Title IX of the Education Amendments. An oversimplification of that momentous policy meant that women now should get equal rights in sport. 

Slowly, but surely, women began to throw a ball better. They were able to run faster and with agility. They could jump higher. Women were allowed to go full throttle in sports. As they began to do a physical activity more often, they began to master it. 

Have they become equal to men in sports? Well, no. When you walk into a forest, do you compare a sapling to an ancient tree? Men have been doing sports for centuries. They've been conditioned to that type of activity since birth.

As a big hockey fan, growing up it was frustrating to me that there weren't that many Americans in the NHL. I always said it was because when a Canadian is born, the first thing his parents put in the crib is a pair of hockey skates. Well, that's happening more in the US now and so there are more Americans in the NHL. 

It's the same with females. Stop putting that Barbie doll in your daughter's crib. Put a baseball in there.

As a student learning sports and exercise, I was always told that males had more muscle mass than females. This was why men are stronger than women “they” said. This may be true, but we guys got that muscle mass via evolution. Over the eons we did most of the heavy lifting. Our bodies adjusted to that. As women begin to do more and more of the activities that in the past only men performed, they will evolve too. 

So give that sapling more time before you compare her to the surrounding forest. She'll get just as tall.

Whoa, Coach Jay rambles on doesn't he? There is so much more to talk about from women’s clothing (I may let the Thurber Brigade handle that) to women's vs. men's pay in sports. I’ll try to save up another $50 so I can continue sometime.  Okay, enough sitting. Everybody get outside and run a couple laps! Coach Jay doesn't put up with lazy dolts. Get going.