Ashley Santos

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  Ashley commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Girls Can't Play Baseball. Or Can They?

  Sorry Trystina, I happen to disagree with some of what you said.  It’s not that you or I am wrong or right, it is simply a matter of opinion.  I know that in my lifetime, I have had more doors opened for me than my brother has (via things like Title IX).  I am not a woman hater, I don’t worship men and do as they say; I am a strong and independent person and realize that there are many problems in our society and many double-standards.  You said, “I would fight for anyone who wanted to participate in any activity as long as they were physically able (male/female).”  Let’s explore this idea; imagine your daughter played volleyball her whole life and couldn’t wait to play in High School.  Her High School has no boys team, so boys are allowed to try out (remember; Title IX is not about women’s right, it is about discrimination against either sex—so, men/boys should have the same protection, even thought we know they don’t).   Your daughter does not make the team, because they needed room for one of the boys that tried out.  Are you going to just accept this and tell your daughter, “sorry sweetie, maybe next year.”  NO!  You’ll be the first person running to the Administration of the school, the Media, a lawyer, and anyone who will listen, crying about how your little girl was wronged.  So, I know that you really don’t mean what you said. 
  
  My point about this particular girl may have not been obvious in my previous post.  I think this girl should be happy with the opportunities she has, a lot of girls don’t have the same opportunities.  There are more important things to fight for.  How about girls being sexually mutilated in Africa?  Thousands of girls a day are tortured, but we really need to settle this baseball/softball problem first.
  
  I read a quote from the A.D. at the school involved in this debate, and the question was asked “if a boy wanted to play softball, would you let him.”  After a nice long diatribe dancing around the issue, the A.D. basically said “No.”  You OK with that Trystina?  Besides, doesn’t this girl realize that college is expensive?  If she’s that good, she’d have a lot better chance getting a softball scholarship than a baseball scholarship.  Unless we believe that she will be able to compete with bigger, stronger, and faster men at the college level (I’m not saying she can’t, but that would be a pretty impressive accomplishment).    
  
  I still believe, and always will, that women leaving female sports just to measure themselves against their male counterparts are just plain selfish.  When we lose the best female players, all women suffer.  Do you want to see Candice Parker leave the WNBA just to go be a bench warmer in the NBA?  No way!  I think that she is the greatest female basketball player of all time and I think that Michael Jordan is the greatest male player of all time.  There is a distinction here.  Candice is great, I love watching her compete against her peers.  Michelle Wie has tried and failed.  Wouldn’t you love to see her up against Annika and Lorena Ochoa?  I would, much better than missing the cut each week (that makes me really proud as a woman).  Now, race car driving, I’m all for that.  Danica Patrick and the other great female drivers should feel free to race with the boys, because the physical difference between men and women are not as important.   
  
  Sorry to sound so mean, I’m just passionate for men’s and women’s rights and I happen to disagree with your point of view.  I am glad your daughter has a lot more opportunities than you had and countless women throughout history.  And BTW…I believe that my way of thinking eliminates female stereotyping more than yours does.  After a certain age, pitting boys and girls against each other in many sports merely points out that girls are smaller, weaker, and slower than boys (typically).  If you put a girl in the arena of athletic competition and she fails miserably, does that get rid of the “throws like a girl” mentality? Do you honestly believe that Candice or any other great WNBA player could compete in the NBA?  Not a chance. 

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  Ashley commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Girls Can't Play Baseball. Or Can They?

  I’m sorry but this kind of stuff actually bothers me a bit, and being a girl that may seem odd.  I certainly think girls deserve the same opportunities as boys in education, athletics, and life in general, and we still have a lot of work to do (but things are far better for girls now than they were a few decades ago).   This girl has a softball team to play on, so why does she need to draw all this attention?  My brother loves volleyball, played it constantly growing up.  There was no boy’s team for him in High School, but was he allowed to play with the girls…no, he wasn’t.  In fact there was no media coverage, no people outraged, no federal lawsuit.  He was simply told he couldn’t play, end of story.  Is that fair?  I was upset for him.  Why do some girls think they have to prove themselves by playing against boys?  We water down female leagues when the best female athletes want to play with the boys.  Take Michelle Wie for example.  She hasn’t even won a major LPGA event, but feels compelled to play on the Men’s tour (and miss the cut week in week out).  Is this good for female sports?   I would love to see the playing field leveled for everyone (boys and girls), but we need to fight the truly important battles.  Not some prissy girl that wants what she wants, not realizing that she already has a great opportunity to play with other great female athletes.