78-06-A7

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Sports

Transcript A judge in Ohio made a decision having to do with the equality of the sexes and the sports world may never be the same. I'll be right back. In a Federal Court in Ohio a judge ruled that state and federal guidelines providing for separate male and female sports are unconstitutional, and that girls must be permitted to take part in contact sports such as football. I would have missed this entirely if it hadn’t come to my attention in a column by M. Stanton Evans. Stan says the judge even went so far as to say "there may be a girl lurking out there somewhere who will become the greatest Quarterback in history." The judge was pretty verbose on the subject. He went on to say: "It has always been traditional that boys play football be girls are cheerleaders. Why so? Where is it written that girls may not if suitably qualified, play football?“ Stan answered that one in his column. "The answer is written in the book of nature and the rules of common sense." He went on to point out very intelligently and in medical terms the physical differences between women and men. They are real and they are inescapable facts of nature. Men are constructed differently with a higher ratio of muscle to body weight. He pointed out that girls compared to boys have narrower shoulders, less cardiovascular capacity, lower center of gravity and that running and throwing are not as natural to the typical feminine body. But enough of that. The judges decision opened up a 2-way street that brings all kinds of possibilities to mind. Suppose there is an Amazon type here and there who can throw a football 60 yards and even scramble to escape a blitz by some charging front 4. She makes the grade and is in line for the Heisman trophy. Seriously I don't deny this is possible. But let's turn around and look in another direction. As I said the judge opened the street both ways. We presently have Girls basketball, softball, soccer and a number of other sports. So here comes 'Joe Muscles,' 6 foot 4—225 pounds who didn't quite make it on the varsity. He still wants to play basketball and so he plays—on what used to be the all girls team. Since the, not-quite-good-enough-Joes undoubtedly outnumber the occasional Amazons who may win a place on the varsity, a lot of girls happily playing on the girl's teams could find themselves permanently on the bench. You buy a ticket to see the championship girls basketball team do it's stuff and five hairy chested male rejects from the varsity take the floor. If you think this is far fetched—brace yourself. In Connecticut Little League they made the game gender free and in 1976 a team of mostly boys won the "Girls" softball championship. A player on the losing—all girls team disappointingly said, "They're so much bigger physically." This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 78-06-A7 Production Date 03/13/1978 Book/Page RPtV-292 Audio No Youtube? No
		Added Notes OSU Lantern article about court ruling New York Times article about court ruling New York Times article about Connecticut Little League M. Stanton Evans. "Unisex Sports Decision Latest 'Victory' for Female Athletes." Human Events, February 25, 1978, pp. 7-8.