Tag Archive for: sports

Eco-Extremists Choose Bizarre Targets

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Fans at the 18th green of the PGA Travelers Championship got to see two sports for one on Sunday, when the sudden intrusion of climate hooligans — soon tackled by security — introduced a wrestling component, very nearly turning the world’s quietest sport into hockey.

Just as tournament leaders Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim arrived to putt, protestors armed with traffic flares ran onto the green, spewing red and white powder on the close-cut grass. The emblems on their white t-shirts revealed that they were members of an American branch of “Extinction Rebellion,” a British eco-extremist group.

Extremists motivated by climate change are now disrupting or defacing high-profile cultural symbols at a rate of more than once per week. On June 19, climate activists associated with “Just Stop Oil” sprayed orange paint on Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site in the U.K. On June 13, “Climate Defiance” activists stormed the field at the Congressional Baseball Game.

The international campaign targeting culturally important symbols has made itself infamous since 2022. So far, climate activists have targeted Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” painting, Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers,” the Magna Charta, the Wimbledon tennis tournament, cycling’s premier event the Tour de France, the Brooklyn Bridge, and (unsuccessfully) Taylor Swift’s private jet, among many other incidents.

In most of these incidents, whatever name the extremists claim that day, the tactics are the same. The activists call their behavior “direct action,” but a more accurate description would be “illegal behavior.” They spray paint, throw soup, glue themselves to, or otherwise seek to injure or deface an object of great cultural value, in the name of drawing attention to what they allege is an existential climate crisis poised to wipe out humanity.

But, from a “climate-conscious” perspective, nearly all of their targets are bizarre.

Take golf, for instance. Here is a sport that requires large swaths of land to be turned into literal parks. Players walk around — or, for longer distances, drive electric carts — enjoying the outdoors. For someone concerned about the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, golf seems like an ideal pastime. It doesn’t even necessarily induce heavy breathing!

Obviously, that perspective is not shared by the climate extremists who stormed the green on Sunday. Lest they be drowned out by the “boos” of the crowd, the attention-grasping delinquents bore their message printed on their outfits: “No golf on a dead planet.”

It’s hard to imagine a more facially absurd message. If the planet were really dead, golfers would putt on a “brown” or “gray,” not a “green.” Not that that would stop them — golfing on the moon might get dusty, but the first billionaire golfers to attempt it will probably manage.

More to the point, these activists decided to make a scene while surrounded by a crowd who assembled for the purpose of watching a fun, outdoor event on a beautiful summer day. After trotting around a golf course all day, these fans could easily tell that the planet was far from dead — in fact, that it is still enjoyable. As usual, spending time in the Great Outdoors is an effective antidote to crackpot theories.

The argument for baseball is much the same as for golf. The pre-electronic contest of skill takes place in a field, helping players enjoy nature without burning a single drop of fossil fuels.

Then there is Stonehenge. Older than the Pyramids, this still-standing stone structure is a striking example of what ancient architects were able to achieve without industrial machinery or modern construction equipment. One would think this relic from the pre-Arthurian era of druidic nature-worship would make it a symbol for the world modern environmentalists want to create, instead of a symbol for the civilization they seek to destroy.

And make no mistake. Destruction is exactly what these climate radicals are creating. Their intention is to wake people up, to draw attention to the alleged climate crisis, which might destroy human civilization, by targeting the icons and activities other people care about. But these cultural symbols are often the best products of our civilization, things that have stood the test of time and are themselves worth preserving.

The climate radicals’ nihilistic attempt to save humanity by wrecking everything humanity cares about was always doomed to fail. Even if their tactics were successful and assumptions were correct, human civilization would survive only as an exhausted, divided wreck of its former self. Fortunately, however, these extremists seem likely to fail simply because they annoy rather than persuade.

The conclusion to the Travelers Championship was nearly as exciting as the disruptive interlude. Underdog Tom Kim rallied from behind with a birdie on the final hole to tie Scottie Scheffler at 22-under-par and send the pair to a playoff. The dominant Scheffler eventually won the playoff, marking his sixth win this year. With this win, Scheffler became the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win six PGA tournaments before July. That is what golf fans really care about, not the preposterous activists who just tried to ruin the fun for everyone else.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

In Monumental Shift, NHL Joins MLB in Quitting Pride Jerseys

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Before Dylan Mulvaney’s six-pack lit a corporate bonfire, there were already signs the cultural tide was turning. In January, a single defenseman’s refusal to wear the NHL’s Pride jersey shook the sports establishment to its very core. He wasn’t trying to start a revolution. He was just a man following his convictions. But six months later, Ivan Provorov’s courage hasn’t just changed hockey — it’s changed the world.

“I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices,” the Russian told reporters at the time. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.” They were just two sentences, but they challenged a status quo that had been as thick as cement in professional hockey.

Thursday, after months of player and team revolts, the NHL finally righted its 13-year wrong of making players props for Pride. After hinting at the need to “reevaluate” the practice in the offseason, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman finally said the league will no longer co-opt athletes for a radical message many reject.

After four months of trying to contain his players’ revolt, Bettman says rainbow-themed jerseys will no longer be worn. “I suggested that it would be appropriate for clubs not to change their jerseys in warm-ups, because it’s become a distraction and taking away from the fact that all of our clubs in some form or another host nights in honor of various groups or causes, and we’d rather them continue to get the appropriate attention that they deserve and not be a distraction,” he told SportsNet at Thursday’s Board of Governors meeting.

For fans, who’ve had to endure the sight of their favorite players draped in the colors of child mutilation and sexual extremism, the league’s reversal is more proof of the cultural earthquake shaking America’s woke foundation. This is a victory for moral courage. It’s a victory for free speech and real tolerance. But also, it’s a victory for corporate awareness. For once, the NHL listened to someone other than the bullies.

When SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman pushed back that Bettman shouldn’t have made this decision now, in the middle of Pride Month, the commissioner said, “Those are legitimate concerns, but in the final analysis, all of the efforts and emphasis on the importance of these various courses have been undermined by the distraction — in terms of which teams, which players [will opt out]. This way we’re keeping the focus on the game and on these specialty nights. We’re going to be focused on the cause,” he said.

If players want to “model” Pride jerseys on their own time, fine, Bettman said. But “it’s really just a question of what’s on the ice,” he emphasized. And what’s on the ice is going to be respect for players’ diverse views. Finally.

Major League Baseball arrived at that decision before hockey, quietly telling teams as far back as February that they wouldn’t be opening themselves up to the NHL’s nightmare. In the directive, which MLB’s front office kept under wraps until this month, they quashed all player Pride gear. And watching Bettman painfully navigate the media circus of six teams’ boycotts (New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs) was a big reason why.

“We have told teams, in terms of actual uniforms, hats, bases, that we don’t think putting logos on them is a good idea just because of the desire to protect players,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes. At the end of the day, he said, we should not be “putting them in a position of doing something that may make them uncomfortable because of their personal views.”

In a society where evil is constantly on the march, these moments of taking ground back are incredibly significant. A year ago, no one imagined that the entire Pride movement would be upended. And yet, that’s what we’re seeing — not just across sports, but across major industries and corporations. Why? Because enough people had the guts to stand up and say, “Enough.”

“This situation shows that progress can be made if people are kind and make reasonable arguments,” Family Research Council’s Joseph Backholm told The Washington Stand. “There are still a lot of Americans who believe diversity includes the freedom to have different beliefs. It seems the NHL was open-minded enough to listen to players who told them they did not want to wear political and religious symbols they disagreed with.”

“It takes humility and courage to admit your mistakes,” he insisted, “and the NHL should be applauded for doing so. Hopefully, this will be a cultural turning point back toward real diversity — not the kind of diversity the sexual revolution is looking for where everyone thinks the same things.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Moms for America: ‘We Are Going to Put the Pressure on the Senate’ to Pass Women’s Sports Bill

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On June 7, a nonprofit by the name of Moms for America held a press conference on the Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C. to speak out about biological men competing in women’s sports across the country. H.R. 734, otherwise known as the Protection of Women’s Sports Act of 2023 has passed the House and is waiting for the Senate to schedule a vote. Professional and collegiate athletes gathered to share their stories along with different state representatives, all united under one objective: calling on the Senate to act and pass the bill.

Tennessee State Representative Diana Harshbarger (R) stated, “I know, as a health care professional, you cannot change somebody’s DNA.” She went on to note how we are in the middle of a spiritual battle. “As the Bible says, what is looked at as evil is now being looked at as good, and what is good is being looked at as evil. That is a spiritual message that I want to send to every American. … We cannot legislate morality.”

One by one, several female athletes also shared their experiences of competing with men identifying as women. Each experience was unique, yet all shared the same conclusion: sex is biology, not identity, and females simply cannot compare to males in terms of athleticism.

Macy Petty, a collegiate volleyball player, was the first to speak on behalf of the girls. Men increasingly stealing opportunities in women’s sports is a “direct threat to the integrity of the competition,” she emphasized. Early in her career, Petty had an opportunity to showcase her skills in front of several scouts. “On the other team was a very tall and athletic man,” she stated. “I did not sign up to be in a co-ed league. … The ruling authorities decided this boy’s feelings overrode our opportunity to play in a female only league. … With his biological advantages, he wooed the college scouts. I hate to think what young lady was passed over to make room for him on their [female] college team.”

After Petty shared her experience, other female athletes stepped forward with similar, heartbreaking stories about times that they were robbed of their sports opportunities as well. To conclude the press conference, Idaho State Representative Barbara Ehardt (R) spoke about how she has been an avid voice in this fight for sports equality throughout her lifetime. “I spent years fighting for opportunities for our girls and women [with Title IX]. Now we’re going backwards,” she said.

Ehardt emphasized how the culture is claiming to make sports a place of humanity, inclusion, and community by allowing men to compete against women. “Folks, I’m telling you, that’s not it at all,” she said. “When it comes to athletics, when it comes to keeping your job, it is about winning. If it wasn’t about winning, players wouldn’t get cut and coaches wouldn’t get fired. It’s about winning, make no mistake, and we cannot compete with the male counterparts.” Ehardt concluded by expressing how her passions have heightened since Title IX was first enacted in 1964. This is not an issue that’s relevant only to the present batch of competitors, she contended. This is an issue that has been debated and fought over for decades. “People, it’s a movement. … Step up, be courageous.”

The fight for integrity in women’s sports is raging, because it questions a fundamental truth. As Kassidy Comer, former college basketball player, told The Washington Stand, “You [cannot] ignore God’s plan for who we’re made to be. You know, we were crafted in the womb in His image, and He does not make mistakes. So, when you’re looking at it saying, ‘I know I was born this way, but I feel like I might be this way,’ that is just spiritual warfare, and that is my strong belief as a Christian.”

When asked how her faith helped her be bold in this fight, Comer responded, “I believe we are called to speak truth into this world. We are called to be salt and light. Salt and light can be invasive sometimes, [it] might hurt somebody’s feelings, but we’re called to speak truth … and that is one thing I’ve really tried to do with the platform I’ve been blessed with.”

Debbie Kraulidis, the vice president of Moms for America, stated that this fight is not an easy one, but it is certainly necessary. “We are going to put the pressure on the Senate to pass this bill,” she said. “It is up to us … to protect women’s sports.”

AUTHORS

Baylie McClafferty

 Sarah Holliday

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EDITOS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Alabama Bans Biological Men from Competing in Women’s College Sports

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On Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed legislation prohibiting biological males who identify as transgender from competing in women’s college sports. The bill’s ratification marks the latest in a swath of legislation nationwide aimed at protecting fair play in women’s sports.

The Alabama law is the second measure enacted in the state in the last two years designed to protect female sports. In 2021, the Yellowhammer State put into practice legislation stating that girls’ sports in grades K-12 are limited to biological females.

According to Fox News, Alabama is one of 20 states nationwide that have put in place guidelines prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s sports in recent years. The wave of legislation comes as an increasing number of biological males are being allowed to compete in women’s sporting events, resulting in at least 30 women’s titles being claimed by biological men over the last 20 years, with the vast majority of those male wins occurring in the last four years alone.

“Look, if you are a biological male, you are not going to be competing in women’s and girls’ sports in Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement. “It’s about fairness, plain and simple.”

Alabama State Rep. Susan DuBose (R), the bill’s sponsor, was equally frank about the need for the legislation. “Forcing women to compete against biological men would reverse decades of progress that women have made for equal opportunity in athletics,” she said last month. DuBose went on to add that “no amount of hormone therapy can undo all those advantages” of being born male.

Still, some media outlets are claiming that the argument that biological male athletes have physical advantages over female athletes has “little basis in science,” as declared by the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday. But a 2020 study on transgender-identifying biologically male athletes found that even after two years of taking hormones to suppress their testosterone, they still retained a 12% advantage over female athletes in running tests. In a separate Canadian study that found similar results, the authors stated, “Testosterone suppression does not remove the athletic advantage acquired under high testosterone conditions at puberty, while the male musculoskeletal advantage is retained.”

A growing chorus of prominent women athletes and sportscasters have added their voices in support of fair play in women’s sports. In response to biological male transgender-identifying swimmer Lia Thomas’s claim that it’s “transphobic” to limit women’s sports to biological women, Grand Slam tennis champion Martina Navratilova was blunt: “NEWSFLASH Lia — it’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over. Also — stop explaining feminism to feminists.”

After ESPN commentator Samantha Ponder recently admitted that she has had “so many [people message] me, stop me in the street to say thank you [and] tell me stories [about] girls who are afraid to speak up for fear of lost employment/being called hateful,” USA Today’s Nancy Armour claimed Ponder was promoting “bigotry.” But ESPN colleague Sage Steele came to Ponder’s defense, tweeting, “Pathetic attack on a WOMAN who is simply fighting for WOMEN in sports … Stay strong @samponder ..this is a lonely fight, but it’s worth it.”

It appears that the fight is becoming less lonely, as another ESPN commentator, who has since left the network, acknowledged that “as a woman … [it] was huge slap in the face” that ESPN celebrated Lia Thomas during Women’s History Month. Meanwhile, Riley Gaines, a former championship swimmer for the University of Kentucky, has become the face of the growing movement to protect women’s sports.

Mary Szoch, director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council and a former NCAA Division I athlete, expressed support for Alabama’s bill protecting women’s collegiate sports.

“I am so grateful for the new Alabama law recognizing that it is unfair and unsafe for men to play women’s sports at the collegiate level,” she told The Washington Stand. “Sports are meant to teach life lessons, but when we allow men to play women’s sports, the only life lesson we’re teaching is that women will always come in second. I look forward to the day when all 50 states follow Alabama’s lead.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

‘They’re Forced to Celebrate It’: Parents of Girls Losing to Boys Speak Out

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“How do you not understand that’s unfair?” It’s a question parents across the country are asking, as more and more of their daughters watch everything they train for vanish. For moms and dads at California’s CIF-North Coast Section Meet, the outrage reverberated across the stands. They watched as Adeline Johnson, an 18-year-old senior, was eliminated from the state track and field championships — all because a biological boy decided to compete as a girl. “There’s no way this should be allowed,” one parent fumed. And yet, if Joe Biden has his way, it will be the future of sports for every girl in America.

Until recently, the boy named Athena Ryan competed in men’s cross country, finishing a distant 63rd in the 2021 men’s 5,000 meters. But this past weekend, running as a girl, he placed second in the 1,600 — knocking real women down or off the podium. After the race, Ryan told reporters he wasn’t “expecting” to run as well as he did. “I dropped like 17 seconds on my season’s best in the past two weeks,” he bragged. “I was just coming here trying to break 5 — just glad I finished it out.”

People in the stands watched as Ryan blew past runners in the backfield toward the end of the race. “You either think that he is holding back,” a parent said, “or it’s his lactic threshold — which means he can access energy in the final part of the race. Girls can’t do that,” the spectator continued. “There is a physical way in which they race. Having a boy in there just throws off the mechanics of the race.”

To the families who’ve helped their daughters train and shuttled them back and forth to meets, the whole sport is becoming a sham. “I 100% percent empathize with the need to belong and the desire to compete,” another anonymous parent said. “[But] you have to understand how hard these girls work to do this.”

Johnson, who will watch Ryan take her place at the state finals later this spring, went viral for giving a subtle thumbs-down during the medal ceremony for her race. To some parents, that was a bold gesture since the girls have been advised to ignore the unfairness of it all and smile along.

“It’s heartbreaking to see what happens to these kids and how scared they are to even show the slightest bit of body language that might indicate they aren’t happy with it,” a family member told The Daily Caller. “They’re, like, forced to celebrate it.”

Worse, that protocol seems to extend to parents, who explain, “We have all been advised that we are not protected. As a family, anything we say falls under the student code of conduct [which demands conformity to the trans agenda]. If we don’t follow the guidelines, then it is considered bullying.” And since “they can’t protect our girls from being disqualified,” it makes sense “why no one wants to speak out.”

“Everybody is too terrified to challenge it. There is the fear of what will happen, what will be taken away, and if you won’t be allowed to race — or if you’ll be canceled.”

Even spectators were silenced, after security decided to remove a group of protestors holding a long banner that read, “Protect Female Sports.” The video, which got plenty of attention on social media, shows the group being confronted by another woman, who calls their sign “disgusting” and “offensive.” For others, however, the escort out of the stadium was a moment of clarity. “Many parents were completely unaware there was a boy competing in girls’ races,” the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) explained.

And not just one boy, as former University of Kentucky swimmer and Title IX advocate Riley Gaines pointed out. A “2nd trans-identifying male, Lorelei Barrett is headed to the @CIFState CA track championships next weekend,” she tweeted. “Along with male Athena Ryan, he’s also qualified in the ‘Girls 1600m’ race. Barrett had qualified for the girls state cross country championships last fall …”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is continuing its obsession on erasing women with a new rule that would wipe away state protections for girls’ sports. Now that public comments have been collected, it’s only a matter of time before Title IX is effectively wiped away.

This, critics say, despite a resurfaced study from the federal government’s own National Institutes of Health which found that biological boys are “faster, stronger, fitter” after taking female hormones.

“A major review quietly re-shared by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last August suggests that early exposure to testosterone means trans women possess at least eight physical and mental attributes that could give them an advantage in sports — even if they make the change relatively early.

“Findings showed trans women had greater muscle mass and bone density, which aid strength, power and durability, plus bigger lungs and higher oxygen levels, which help with endurance, as well as increased connections in the brain responsible for spatial awareness, which could help with agility.”

In other words, Family Research Council’s Meg Kilgannon says, “The Biden administration is further confusing and pressuring schools to adopt these policies, while acknowledging that boys and girls are different and boys have an advantage over girls in competitive sports.”

Parents need to understand, she told The Washington Stand, this isn’t just happening at public schools. “This story is an example of what can happen in private schools when decision-making authority is outsourced to sports’ governing bodies or academic associations. Some of the most woke schools in the country are exclusive prep schools [like Sonoma Academy where these athletes were from].”

There’s a lesson here for religious schools, Kilgannon urged: “Make sure your governing documents are sufficient to withstand an attack from within. Mary Hasson’s work at Person and Identity Project is a great example of the kinds of safeguards, programs, and professional development religious schools need to protect your children and your institution against this ideology.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Liberal BBC Asks, “Is Sport Sexist?” While Promoting Inequality

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It long ago became clear to me that, despite all the pretense, protesting and politicking, no one who has ever seriously thought about equality actually believes in it. When making this case, one could point to how Eric Holder’s DOJ is currently suing the Pennsylvania State Police for treating women equally (how dare they!), but there’s perhaps no better example than a recent BBC writer who asks, “Is sport sexist?”

The author, Aimee Lewis, poses the question because there are still sports where the women’s categories don’t precisely correspond to the men’s; for example, she mentions how women gymnasts and swimmers don’t always compete in the same kinds of events, the no-contact rule in women’s lacrosse and how in tennis, “While men play five sets at Grand Slams, women can only compete over three sets.”

Now, the last example well illustrates the convoluted thinking underpinning much of the equality movement. Is the correct way of framing this that “women can only compete over three sets”?

Or it is that men must compete over five?

This is especially relevant since the equality police long ago lobbied for, and succeeded in getting, equal prize money for women at the Grand Slams (Wimbledon, French Open, U.S. Open, Australian Open). In other words, the male players must now work longer for the same pay and thus are actually earning less per hour than the women.

Equality?

The head of the Women’s Tennis Association, Stacey Allaster, was asked about this recently, called it “an old discussion” and said, “[W]e’re ready, willing and able to play five sets if that’s what they’d like us to play.”

Question: Years ago, did Allaster merely say, “We’re ready, willing and able to accept equal prize money if that’s what they’d like to offer”?

No, she zealously lobbied for it.

Why isn’t she lobbying now for equal work for her players’ equal pay? Sure, it’s human nature to want the benefits others have but not their liabilities. But if you really believe in Equality™, you don’t just shout the word in an effort to institute a different model of inequality, one that benefits you or your agenda.

Having said this, I agree with Lewis’ implication: sport is “sexist.” After all, there is a separate realm of athletics that’s protected from the best competition and is only available to one sex. It is, of course, called women’s sports.

This isn’t just snark. There’s a simple answer to any feminist complaint about inequality in sports: You want the men’s money, exposure, standards, respect or something else?

Compete in men’s sports.

And women have the opportunity. Golfers Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie have received “sponsor’s exemptions” to play in PGA (men’s) events. Women have tried out for the NBA and have attempted to work their way up to baseball’s major leagues through the farm system. The door, Ms. Allaster, is open — you just have to be ready, willing and, most importantly, able to walk through it.

The point is this: It’s silly and hypocritical to lobby for equality within an inherently unequal system while simultaneously supporting that system. And if you do, do you really believe in equality in principle? Or only as ploy?

To arbitrarily say that female athletes should earn the same as male ones is like saying that lightweight boxers should have the same purses as heavyweights. It’s like saying the best handicapped “differently abled” athletes (as in the Special Olympics) should not only get paid, but they should earn the same as the able-bodied. And what of elite high-school athletes? The mile record for 15-year-old boys is better than the women’s world record, and the boys’ American high-school record is considerably better. And with some variation, these gaps hold across sports, yet most of these hard-working male athletes will never succeed in the men’s professional ranks and will never earn even what the women do. Should these young sportsmen not only be paid but be compensated as handsomely as the pros?

The answer is simple: If the market — which is just economic democracy expressed through purchasing decisions — valued events for the handicapped or juniors as highly as it does professional men’s sports, those arenas would command the same revenues. The same is true of women’s sports, of course, but in that case we’re expected to offer a special dispensation from the market forces that apply to anyone and everyone else. We’re also supposed to ignore professions in which women are paid more, such as modeling, in which 2013’s 10 top-earning female models commanded 10 times as much as their male counterparts.

Equality?

The reason why heavyweight boxers have always received more money and exposure (satisfied the market more) than lightweights is because the heavyweight world champion is the world champion. This is the same reason men’s professional sports command greater revenue and exposure than athletic arenas for juniors, the handicapped or collegians — or for women. The best male athletes are the best athletes. Other sports categories exist to provide other people with opportunities to compete, have fun and build character. They are not jobs programs.

The truth is that not just sport but all of nature’s and man’s world is a place defined by varying degrees of quality, not equality. This is no doubt why the Bible barely mentions the notion, except when referring to weights and measures. It’s also why I tend to doubt that anyone who has ever pondered equality deeply actually believes in it. It sure is a great rallying cry, though, when trying to overturn the status quo and institute a special-interest-group favoring system of inequality.

For this reason it actually would be beneficial to eliminate sex-specific categories in sports, let everyone compete together and allow the cream to rise to the top. After all, to use a twist on Lincoln’s observation about laws, the best way to eliminate a bad social movement is to apply its tenets strictly. If we actually had to live with the reality of “equality” instead of just its rhetoric, lobbying for equality might go out the window really, really fast.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com