After Atalanta

So will Saudi Arabia be allowed (by the IOC) to get away with not sending any female athletes because they just can't find any? The top choice, equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas, cannot attend . Will the IOC allow Saudi officials to say "well, we tried." I hope not. So do others. This is a very strong editorial about why the IOC should ban the entire Saudi Olympic team if it does not contain any women. The author rightly notes that wild cards are available--and surely the IOC will grant them given their stake in this situation--to athletes who do not meet Olympic qualifying standards. But even if that was not the case--would it be ok for the Saudis to say--well, give us some more time? This has been an ongoing issue. It is not about time, it is about culture. On a related note, FIFA has (finally) said it will allow players to wear the hijab.

A story about the baseball team from Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrows Academy forfeiting a state championship because there was a girl playing on the opposing team . I thought it was a farce. It is ridiculous--but it is true. The academy, located in Arizona, is founded and adheres to the principles of the Society of Saint Pius X, a separatist branch of the Catholic Church. One of these tenets is the separate teaching of boys and girls--which extends to sports. Perpetual Sorrows is a regular season opponent of Mesa Prep--the state winner, by default--but the players in questions, second baseperson Paige Sultzbach had voluntarily sat out of previous encounters. But she didn't think it was fair to forfeit her own rightful place as a player in a state championship. So Perpetual Sorrows opted not to compete. It's their right to do so of course.  But I wonder what lessons their students are learning from this? Opting out is not new. Stories about male wrestlers "choosing...

Saw a very good article today by Jerome Solomon in the Houston Chronicle about the spate of alleged and actual violence perpetrated by male student-athletes against women. It was inspired by the allegations against Baylor student and basketball player LaceDarius Dunn. Dunn allegedly punched his girlfriend, with whom he has a child, in the face possibly breaking her jaw. Solomon notes that while the justice system, in such a case, might see this as a misdemeanor and issue a fine and/or community service, Baylor has an opportunity to send a message about what it thinks about domestic violence and suspend Dunn for the season. I'm a little doubtful the administration (and, hello? when did Ken Starr become president of a university???) will take such a (what I am sure they see as a) drastic step. Solomon reminds us that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I know, you probably forgot what with every woman on Facebook telling you where she likes it in an attempt (I guess?) to ...

Looking back over stories/articles/incidents I have been meaning to mention, I noticed a theme: homosexuality. (I guess there really is an agenda!) First was the controversial press conference by the new women's head coach at the University of Missouri. Robin Pingeton's press conference in which she announces her Christianity and talks about the family atmosphere of her coaching staff (all married to opposite sex partners and with children) has been fairly well covered but I thought I would mention it anyway. You can check out Pat Griffin's blog for an excellent assessment of the conference and the ramifications of Pingeton's discourse. In the aftermath of the press conference, a lot of comments have been made about Pingeton's intentions. There is a lot of skepticism regarding them; about whether Pingeton was sending the message to potential recruits, their parents, and fans that this was not going to be a dyke-y program. But this guy , an avowed atheist, is giving...

It is not news to most that BYU athletic teams (or even, I suppose, the debating team, if they have one) do not compete on Sundays for religious reasons. It is not especially difficult to control when scheduling regular season contests. Post-season can be a little more tricky. But the NCAA does not allow scheduling that would infringe on a school's religious practices. But the BYU women's rugby team is a club sport (not governed by NCAA rules) and the women have made it to the national championships which are being held this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. By the time the scheduling issue was realized plane tickets had been purchased by BYU and other teams and it was too late. So if the BYU women win on Saturday, they cannot play on Sunday . Actually they are not officially affiliated with the school (not sure how that works) so they can play, but being practicing Mormons, they will choose not to. My reaction to this story is a mix of "live and let live" and "scr...

Not that I was ever into him but this Super Bowl Focus on the Family ad conversation is getting old. Well not so much old as typical. Same old arguments. Same old sides. And in the end the "right" which is all about the self-martyrdom will have the ear of the greater public and call all left-leaning folks radicals--if only because on Sunday people just want to sit down and watch the game. So instead of getting embroiled (more so emotionally--I don't see myself as a major player in this debate) I am just going to post this link to Dave Zirin's column on the issue and remind people that having an ad during the Super Bowl is not a constitutional right; it's an economic privilege.

So much for my one religion post a month. I guess I just can't will culture to limit my exposure to such things. So who is talking about Tim Tebow--besides this reluctant blogger? Well every guy on Sports Center and Mike and Mike in the Morning (I sit through a lot of crap to get tennis highlights). Tim's currently in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl which is a parade of intercollegiate football players for professional franchises. And Tebow is all anyone is talking about down there according to the ESPN on-the-scene reporter. One of the Mikes was actually astute enough to ask whether the whole Superbowl ad controversy is being talked about by anyone who matters--i.e. anyone who might potentially draft Tebow. And no, apparently it is not on the radar screens of any powers that be. Not surprising, even though one of the Mikes contends that pro teams don't like controversy. Perhaps, but they have plenty of experience dealing with it! And this is probably a welcome controve...

The title implies that there might be only be one--ever--on this blog. That would be nice. But alas it's probably more accurate to call this the January sport and Christianity post. And that's only because the Superbowl doesn't happen until February. Because the sports world--or at least the sports world I live in which is a slightly different reality from say the ESPN sports world others inhabit--is abuzz with the Tim Tebow Superbowl ad brought to you by my favoritest group evah: Focus on the Family. Of course the ad is being paid for by a few generous and seemingly anonymous individuals and not coming out FOF's general budget. But now several women's groups are asking CBS , which has a policy against airing "contentious advocacy ads" which was why they rejected an ad from the United Church of Christ that welcomed all types of people to their congregations--including gays, lesbians, and other queer-type people. But CBS does not seem to be concerned about ...

Cuba may not want its female citizens boxing, but Indian women, who have been stepping into the ring for a while now, are excited about showcasing their skills at the Olympics in 2012. In fact the Indian women are probably the second best in the world after the Chinese. The benefits of boxing for Indian women are numerous but seem to center, at least according to this NYT article , on the possibility of a better life after their boxing career ends. Boxers get government jobs and housing as well as other perks. Such things mark one as middle class and many of these women came from a lower caste and specifically sought out boxing for its ability to engender such a class shift. It provides honor to the boxer and her family. It also gives women a little more reprieve from the domestic duties required of many Indian women. And for some it has altered their attitude toward such roles. One woman has continued to fight even after marriage and motherhood and works in partnership with her husban...

Good article in the NYT about women's soccer (known there as football, of course) in Turkey. It focuses on the lack of acceptance for women's participation in the sport. Turkey has established a women's soccer league and getting people interested has been a battle because, according to the article, "there is a deep ambivalence in this socially conservative, predominantly Muslim society about women playing the game." This article constantly had me comparing the climate in Turkey to the one here. When a writer invokes Islam in the context of women playing sport, there seems to be an automatic response along the lines of "oh, yes, it's so bad there; they are so oppressed." After all, what are things like here in a arguable socially conservative, predominantly Christian society? This spring marks attempt number two at a women's professional soccer league in the United States. Women's soccer fans are crossing fingers, toes, and engaging in any oth...

I kind of got blogged out with all the Dubai stuff but in my hiatus I missed one of the major stories: Andy Roddick's withdrawal from the men's tournament. Roddick, who was the defending champion, withdrew in protest over the denial of Peer's visa. I almost thought this was an Onion-esque joke when I first heard it. Because there doesn't seem to be a lot of cross-gender support in professional tennis--and there never has been: recall the Billie Jean King/ATP riff in the 70s. If Andy Ram had been denied a visa, one could see perhaps see a little more of a direct connection to Roddick's actions. I'll admit to not being a Roddick fan. I liked him when he first came on the tour and was coached by Tarik Benhabiles. I liked him when he dated Mandy Moore. But when he hooked up with Brad Gilbert and then Connors, I thought he started to become the stereotypical arrogant male athlete. But you have to give him credit for this act. There seems to be nothing self-serving i...

Looks like Andy Ram, a tennis player from Israel, will be allowed to play in Dubai next week. There was question over whether he would also be denied a visa into the United Arab Emirates as his countrywoman, Shahar Peer was this past week thus preventing her from playing in the Barclay's Dubai Women's Championship.

So this article about the Dubai tournament does not cite boycott as the primary reason for Peer's visa denial, but one of several reasons. It seems that the main concern was security--as in fear of violence. Not the same thing as a boycott. If no one shows up, there wouldn't be much need for security, eh? Attention though has now been turned to the pending Andy Ram situation with the ATP already stepping in asking the UAE do "do the right thing."

As Diane at Women Who Serve noted yesterday , the reason for Shahar Peer's visa denial by the United Arab Emirates was because tournament organizers feared a boycott by fans. I was a little surprised by this revelation because I didn't think tennis was all that popular in the United Arab Emirates in the first place. And given Islamic rules on the presence of women in not a lot of clothing, I would think it just wouldn't be a huge issue because not a lot of people would turn up anyway. Weren't all these issues raised when the announcement about WTA tournaments in the Middle East (Qatar and UAE) was made? To me it seems the issue would not be losing a lot of fans, but of finding a lot of people gathering in protest. As has been reported elsewhere, next week Israeli Andy Ram, who is arguably less well-know than Peer, is slated to play in Dubai. No word on how that situation is playing out.

Well give WTA officials some credit. They are seriously talking about taking the Barclay's Dubai Championships off the tournament schedule because of the recent controversy over the visa denied to Israeli player Shahar Peer. Unfortunately, the reason given by WTA head Larry Scott is because the actions of the united Arab Emirates goes against the principle that sports and politics should not mix. Ironic given that pulling WTA support for the tournament will be a political act by a sports organization. Peer herself is espousing the "party line": I think a red line has been crossed here that could harm the purity of the sport and other sports. I have always believed that politics and sports should not be mixed.” This kind of reasoning is why athletes are so unlikely to take a stand against an act like this. This is why no player would dream of supporting Peer by, say, withdrawing from the tournament. Peer is lucky this time that the WTA is on her side. But if it wasn't,...

Last year at this time I had just started teaching sport sociology. It's a fine class to teach. So many examples at one's fingertips to illustrate various points. Plus I think students really feel involved in the course when they can draw on their own experiences in sport and on what they see and hear as fans and consumers of a variety of sports. Last spring was the Lebron James Vogue cover "incident" which was great discussion material even though my students accused me of "reading too much into it." But I bet those who are teaching sport soc or sport in society are having a great time already. First there is the ongoing "blowout" saga in a high school basketball game in Texas. I heard this story first on Sunday morning lying in bed listening to NPR. Didn't catch the beginning because, well I was lying in bed just waking up. So all I heard was something about a team that had not won in something like 4 years being blown away by another team an...

Don't have any grand thoughts on 2008--or forecasts for 2009. I've seen plenty of articles about top 10 sports stories at local, national, international levels upon which I feel no need to comment. The Boston Globe has a list of sport figures (including horses) who died in 2008. I had completely forgotten about former figure skater Christopher Bowman who died very early in 2008 of a drug overdose. I am interested in the Healthy Weight Network's 2008 Worst Diets of the Year. The organization took nominations for their 20th annual Slim Chance Awards. Anyone could nominate bad diets, diet products, and the biggest gimmicks. (I heard a pretty bad radio commercial the other day for a local personal training outfit that harped on one's laziness and lack of self-control and told "gals" they could get slim and trim and guys that they could get six-pack abs and guns. Hello--I want six-pack abs. Just not from these people.) Anyway, the results were released yesterday an...

So a high school girl, Kacy Stuart, down in Georgia wanted to play football for her high school. But they wouldn't let her. Then her mother advocated on her daughter's behalf (i.e., raised some hell) and now Stuart is playing. Other schools are not so happy about this and Bible verses have been uttered in defense of all-boy football. Because I Played Sports chronicles the story so I won't go into further detail that you can find there. No word yet on what exactly compelled the school to allow Stuart to kick. It wasn't Title IX because it does not apply to contact sports. Maybe they just didn't like the publicity--of which they were receiving a lot. But here's the thing...Stuart plays for New Creation Center Crusaders. It's a private, Christian school. It is, according to its website , "non-denominational." When someone says they are Christina non-denominational that is usually code for Pentecostal. This may not be the case at New Creation Center, b...

The AP ran a story a couple of weeks ago about a women's basketball team in Saudi Arabia. The article highlighted the "freedom" from restrictions placed on most Saudi Muslim women that basketball engenders. Why is freedom in quotation marks above? Because when we talk about Asian and Middle Eastern Muslim women, especially in the context of sport, we have a tendency to impose Western norms. And, of course, we get into some problematic areas. Because of course many of the regulations placed on Saudi women's movement and dress are sexist and limiting--perhaps even debilitating. But there are a few problems. First, Western society and Western-based religions have plenty of sexist practices and regulations too. Can we really hierarchize them? Well I suppose we do. But we shouldn't. They all wreak of patriarchal stink. So such discourse as was put forth in the article (mostly in the titles that individual papers chose to place on the story) created a vision of sport as...

In response to an incident that occurred a few months ago at a high school basketball game in Kansas, the Kansas State High School Activities Association has added language to its application for member schools which prevents discrimination against an official based on sex, nationality, race, or religion. (Note the very obvious absence of sexuality and gender expression. Grrr...) The addition of the anti-discrimination language was motivated by an incident this past February in which a female referee was told by one of the participating schools, St. Mary's Academy, that they would not allow her to officiate the game because a woman in charge of young boys went against their religious beliefs. St. Mary's has not commented on the change in the application which would effectively deny them any form of membership in the KSHSAA meaning they would not be able to compete against member schools--assuming they would continue to refuse female referees--which they seem intent on doing. Th...