After Atalanta

The Saudi female athlete most observers thought would be heading to London next month after Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on female athletes in the Olympics--will not. Equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas could not meet the Olympic qualifying standard after losing valuable training time when her horse sustained an injury. A reader pointed me to this article about the situation. There are, apparently, other unnamed female athletes under consideration.

Some people I have spoken with don't like Maria Sharapova because they think she's too pretty--and not much else (besides a good tennis player). I think she's pretty smart and has a good sense of humor. I love the way she deals with the corps of media folk who ask her largely inane questions. And Sharapova continued to handle herself well yesterday when asked to respond to Frenchman Gilles Simon's comments about how tennis should go back to the days when women got paid less than men at the Grand Slam tournaments. Simon thinks men's tennis is more entertaining; that the matches are more interesting. Of course he didn't offer any means of how to measure entertainment value. He didn't note that the rest of the year women earn less at their tournaments than the men do at theirs. And he was forced to acknowledge that his straight-set loss at Wimbledon was probably not that entertaining. Simon was recently elected to the ATP Players' Council, which seems to...

There is a tie for the third spot on the women's 100 meters (running) US Olympic team. No solution yet on how to determine which runner, Allyson Felix or Jeneba Tarmoh, will get the spot. Justin Gatlin, the men's 100 meter champion at the trials, suggested they two women wrestle in out--in either Jello or mud. I am sure they appreciated being given two options. Gatlin got a lot of crap for the comment which many have--not surprisingly--deemed sexist. But he said it was taken out of context. Oh--do you mean the context of patriarchy where you think all kinds of comments are permissible? The thing about dominant ideologies is that they all have a little bit of wiggle room; there's a lot of pushing and pulling; and hegemony has been known to spring a leak.

A lot of the recent chatter about women in the Olympics has been around 1) Saudi Arabia's ban on women's sports and 2) just how much testosterone a woman can have before she crosses the line into "man." But even "normally" hormoned women not from Saudi Arabia are having issues as thy prepare for London. Sania Mirza, who was chosen to by the Indian Tennis Federation to represent India, has been at the center of an odd argument about who shall play with whom. Apparently the men on the Indian team are arguing about who they want to partner with for doubles and for mixed doubles. And they are using Mirza to try to get their way. The father of one of the players wants Mirza to guarentee, in writing, that she will play with his son. Someone has said he will only play with someone else if Mirza plays with him in mixed doubles. It all sounds 1) a little but middle school and 2) a lot bit patriarchal. And Mirza calls them out on all this . It's an amazing ope...

I have largely stopped posting about the (mis)gendered language in sports. But language still continues to fascinate me. And I was particularly struck by the incongruity I heard at Wimbledon yesterday while watching Kim Clijsters's match. Wimbledon refers to female players as either Miss or Mrs (last name) depending on their marital status. While the formality is quaint, the practice seems antiquated--especially in this situation: Clijsters is married. She gets referred to as Mrs. But she never changed her name. So she is called Mrs. Clijsters at Wimbledon. It sounds so odd.

Saudi Arabia announced today that it will allow female athletes to compete in the Olympics under the Saudi flag (i.e. not invited by the IOC and under their "neutral" flag). The press about the decision contains a lot of platitudes from Saudi representatives about the spirit of the games. No word on which women will be there; Saudi officials have said they will allow any woman who qualifies to attend. Unfortunately given the lack of support (to put it mildly) for female athletes in Saudi Arabia, not many women meet Olympic qualifying standards. The IOC is likely to make exceptions just to get Saudi women to London this year. More of a sure thing is equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas who is a Saudi citizen who was born in the United States. There were no given reasons for the change of heart by Saudi administrators. The IOC had been working with government officials since the spring and kept reporting "progress," but in April the Saudis announced they would not be se...

So the NBA pumps weren't exactly offensive. These, however, are. Discomfort on so many levels! Adidas has reconsidered releasing these, though. No shackle sneakers for the consuming public .

Truly excellent column in the NYT about the IOC's proposed changes to rules regarding the testosterone levels of female athletes.

It's hard finding a poem to celebrate fathers' day. Sylvia Plath isn't quite appropriate for the occasion. But this one is pretty good. The details may change, but the sentiment remains. So Happy Fathers' Day to the dads out there and especially my own, who helped cultivate my love of sport (none of us know where the poetry thing came from) and keeps me stocked in sport gear. FATHER by Ella Wheeler Wilcox He never made a fortune, or a noise In the world where men are seeking after fame; But he had a healthy brood of girls and boys Who loved the very ground on which he trod. They thought him just little short of God; Oh you should have heard the way they said his name – ‘Father.’ There seemed to be a loving little prayer In their voices, even when they called him ‘Dad.’ Though the man was never heard of anywhere, As a hero, yet somehow understood He was doing well his part and making good; And you knew it, by the way his children had Of saying ‘Fathe...

Caster Semenya is on something. Say that about almost any other track and field athlete (or cyclist-- even the now officially retired "I've- never tested positive" Lance Armstrong remains under scrutiny) and you think doping. An athlete seeking an unfair advantage. But not Semenya--and not, according to secret and not-so-secret sources--are numerous other female athletes who apparently are meeting standards of performance, of hormone levels, of muscle mass not associated with the socially acceptable definition of female. Interventions have been made. Drugs administered. Surgeries completed. At least that's the impression given by this article . We all know the controversy over Semenya's performance and appearance. When it was seemingly over, the horror over the whole experience--the invasion of privacy, the (largely undiscussed) racism and colonialism, the general ickiness of it all--was supposed to be a closed chapter. An additional stain, but one that the Th...

OMG! I'm watching sand volleyball. Right now. Collegiate sand volleyball. Pepperdine versus Long Beach State.  This is the first ever national championships in the sport. Not NCAA sponsored. I think, actually and somewhat perversely, Jack-in-the-Box is sponsoring these championships. I was curious about uniforms when this sport was proposed. Pretty modest (compared to what we will see from most women's teams in London, where it's not going to be super warm, btw). Pepperdine has tank tops and what looks like running shorts. One of the Pepperdine assistant coaches is the coach of famed American duo Misty May and Kerry Walsh. Long Beach is wearing tankinis. It looks like most of the other teams in the tournament are doing the tank top/shorts combo. Pepperdine has already won the team title. Now they are looking to win the individual title. I love having a girlfriend who has more sports channels than she even knows exist!

...show your fandom in your feet, females! Fan gear that limits your activity level. This is something to put in my female fandom file for that not-yet-written article. Previous commentary on this issue has been about 1) pink apparel or 2) heteronormative marketing. My last post on the heteronormative marketing of sports gear, trinkets, mementos brought a comment from Sean at sportsBabel about why I would want to be included in the grand capitalist scheme. True, true. And when I saw this little piece of news about how the NBA will be making $250 stilettos, I was mighty glad to not be in the target audience.These things don't seem very practical. I mean, high tripping/slipping hazard when walking around the arena and up and down stairs to your seat. And you definitely don't want some drunk fan to spill beer on these!

Sadly, I just watched Sam Stosur lose in the semifinals of Roland Garros to Sara Errani. Errani played very well and I kind of like her style. I hadn't paid too much attention to her prior to this run at the French. But I liked her glasses and bandana look from the quarters the other day. She looked tough. Stosur always looks tough because the woman is ripped. But she is not a man. In case you were wondering. Dominika Cibulkova, Stosur's opponent from the quarters seemed to be wondering that after being defeated by Stosur fairly handily . I actually didn't hear the post-match comments or the comments on the post-match comments. Thankfully I have friends who keep me informed while I sit in the library endlessly coding data. This is nothing new, of course. Just a different set of characters. Cibulkova who could not handle Stosur's heavy topspin serve and was put on the defensive by Stosur's amazing forehand, thought this meant that Stosur was man-like in her style....

This month marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX. Each anniversary engenders a good deal of media attention about the equity in education legislation, but this year, of course, the attention is greater. The Title IX Blog has been covering some of the anniversary coverage. A trend that I have noticed is the focus on the everyday athlete . We are hearing testimonials and personal histories and reflections from women who are not elite athletes. ESPNW is collecting pictures and mini-stories from women of all ages and abilities that are entered into a collage/mosaic on their website . This opinion piece on an NBC website fits this trend of hearing from the everyday women and the way Title IX affected their lives. Jelisa Castrodale also discusses what she sees among the girls of today and their relationships to sports, the access (often unquestioned) they have to sports, and the ways sport is incorporated into their everyday lives. The title of the column is "Don't call us tom...

No--just kidding. Don't burn anything. Fire is dangerous. But at least female badminton players can ditch their skirts if they would rather play in shorts (or pants I would assume). The Badminton World Federation has nixed its plans to require female athletes to wear skirts in competitions. There was a sizable enough outcry to make it a rule not worth fighting for. But the federation--still concerned with the aesthetic appeal if its female athletes--is urging the women to look as good as possible for the cameras in London. The men, too, though apparently their appeal is not tied to skirts. Still looking for more appealing and camera-friendly outfits, though, the BWT is working directly with apparel companies in an attempt to get them to offer players better outfits. So, technically, they could encourage these companies to offer mostly skirts and dresses to women while providing just a few shorts options. But they wouldn't do that, would they?

Has anyone written about the highly problematic tenure of IOC president Jacques Rogge? I want to fast forward to a few decades from now and read about his legacy. I can't imagine it will be favorable. The inspiration for these frustrations? The IOC, as lead by Rogge, is still trying to work it out with Saudi Arabian officials to get some Saudi women to London in a few months to compete in the Olympics. The only firm thing: Rogge said Saudi women will not be competing under the (neutral) IOC flag. The IOC is getting pressure from human rights groups around the globe to sanction the Saudis if they do not allow women to compete in these games. But Rogge is not ready to talk sanctions. Some of his comments on the situation: I t's not an easy situation. We're working steadily with them to find a good solution. There is a commitment. (to what and by whom?) We are continuing to discuss with them... Wait and see. We do not want to enter into any hypothetical questions. ...

A little Shakespeare; a little (melancholy) spring sonnet. From you have I been absent in the spring... (Sonnet 98)   From you have I been absent in the spring, When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, Hath put a spirit of youth in everything, That heavy Saturn laughed and leaped with him, Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell Of different flowers in odor and in hue, Could make me any summer's story tell, Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew. Nor did I wonder at the lily's white, Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose; They were but sweet, but figures of delight, Drawn after you, you pattern of all those. Yet seemed it winter still, and, you away, As with your shadow I with these did ...

...against the sexualization of female athletes as epitomized by the Lingerie Football League. It didn;t happen here in the US. But the Australian Minister of Sports had a few choice words for the Lingerie Football League which is trying to expand its brand down under. Those words included: degrading, cheap, and perv(erted). I am sure if the US had a minister of sport, s/he would speak out against the LFL. And the Lingerie Basketball League. And the new inline Bikini Hockey League. Maybe we need a Minister of Sport.

In 1992 South African Bob Hewitt was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. It's possible that I was even there that year to see it. (I'd have to ask my dad.) What very few knew then was that years later women from all over the globe would come forward with charges of sexual abuse against Hewitt, who served as a tennis coach in the US and abroad after his playing career was over. Various entities are investigating the charges, (the statute of limitations has expired in the US for filing criminal charges) but th e Hall of Fame is not one of them --despite earlier promises that they would. Abuse perpetuated by coaches is not an uncommon as we might like to believe. There have been years and years of silence in a myriad of sport: swimming, gymnastics, figure skating, among others. But sport federations and associations are starting to own up to the past and taking actions in the present to try to prove they will not turn a blind eye to sexual abuse. When the US Gymnastics Hall ...

The day was warm, the hills were long or steep--sometimes both. And as I sped down one such hill--a series actually of downhills--I thought "what's the point?" I had climbed and climbed and climbed all morning. And my reward was these downhills. But they didn't feel like a reward. What's the point of all the climbing, of all the hard work if I'm just going to go downhill at 30 miles an hour? Why bother going uphill at all? It's so easy to go downhill. The hours of work is negated in minutes. It is so easy to lose elevation after fighting so hard to go so high. The downhills--which I usually enjoy--felt like failure. Maybe it was because the roads were bumpy and every time I hit a particularly egregious bump at 30 miles an hour, I was reminded that I really needed to pee. Maybe I was dehydrated. Maybe I was just having a bad day. I did snap out of it by the end of the ride. Perhaps it was all the recorded reality I was able to examine post ride: how far, ...