Ruining youth sports

In Indiana, right now, there is a law suit pending that is attempting to place a girl on the boy’s baseball team. This angers me for several reasons and it should upset you as well. This suit hurts boy’s sports (and girl’s sports ultimately). The argument they make is that she should have equal opportunity to play baseball as boys, and that softball is not equivalent, therefore not a reasonable alternative. This same school already has a girl on the football team, as their kicker. Why not make this exception as well? Here’s why this exception SHOULD NOT be made.

In the case of football there isn’t a reasonable alternative. Softball IS a reasonable alternative for girls even if they are not identical sports. The recent crop of parents suing to place their daughters on boy’s teams is an unsavory trend. If we begin to allow girls on boy’s teams, are we going to allow boys on girl’s teams? That would seem the only fair thing to do, although I doubt many boys will take up the offer. Otherwise there are not an equal number of opportunities for the boys. That’s ultimately the goal, right, to provide equal opportunity for every youth?

By equally allowing boys to play on girls’ teams, you create animosity for all girls’ sports. In order to accommodate one girl that wants to play with the boys, you undermine ALL other girls. Is that really fair to the girls? Think about it. The girls on the girl’s basketball team now have to contend with 6’6” boys playing that are able to dunk on them and rebound every ball within arm’s reach. Is that fair to the girls on the girl’s basketball team? What about the boy’s wrestling team from the middle school that faces girls from the high school team at a tournament who are 3-4 years older and more experienced (because they are the same weight class)? Is that fair?

If boys and girls begin to play on each other’s teams then youth sports begins to break down all together. At that point there is no need for separate teams in basketball, soccer, tennis, swimming, etc. Let them play on one team and the best athletes will be the ones that represent the school. That’s the only fair way to do it. The next closest option to fair is separate teams by gender, but that’s not good enough it would seem. Boys are more aggressive and competitive than girls at the high school level. It’s hormonal. It’s societal. It’s fact. Reducing the teams to one coed team also means less expense on equipment as well. That’s good in these economic times. That also means that fewer girls (and boys) will play sports though because there won't be enough spots on the teams. Is that what these people want?

I hope the judge in this case can see the far-reaching effects this type of case will have on youth sports. The idea that I’m against a girl having every opportunity seems wrong, but it is the greater good. One girl’s desires do not supersede all others. Sometimes, in life, we don’t get what we want and things don’t go our way. It isn’t about individual rights; it’s about the collective rights of the group. One person’s right is not independent of all other people’s rights. The ruling in this case should be in favor of ALL girls not this one.

Please don't ruin youth sports before my children have a chance to experience it.