Today is going to be a jumble of issues – a regular sports hash. About a week ago, the US Women’s National Soccer Team hired Jeffrey Kessler and he filed on their behalf a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeking equal pay for equal work for those women. In the majority of sports situations, I would look askance at such a complaint because there is – I believe – a measure that tilts the equality away from women in most cases:
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The comparable men’s sport to which the comparison must be made brings in more revenue than does the women’s version of that sport. Pay is tied to work and work output to be sure but it ought also to be tied to the value of the results of the work – namely revenue in the case of sports.
In the case of soccer in the US, the Women’s National Team is more successful on the field than is the Men’s National Team and – even more importantly – according to reports, the Women’s National Team brings in more revenue to the US Soccer mavens than does the Men’s National Team. Jeffrey Kessler is not just some lawyer the women found by perusing the Yellow Pages; he is a formidable figure in the field of labor law and anti-trust law. I really hope he wins this case; the US Women’s National Soccer Team deserves to win.
In another area of gender equality, the IOC recently announced that they have been successful in increasing the number of women representatives on various IOC Commissions. IOC President, Thomas Bach, said that women participation is now greater than 33%; that may not sound like “equality” but it is a significant increase. Buried in his statements/announcements however was the fact that the composition of the IOC Ethics Committee [snicker] remains unchanged. The last thing they need on that committee is a fresh pair of eyes and a new set of motor neurons … no matter what combination of X and Y chromosomes might come with those eyes/motor neurons.
Over the past several weeks, there have been various reports saying that Tim Tebow is considering running for public office or that he is intrigued by the idea of running for public office or – – you get the idea. When I look at the caliber of the 535 incumbents in the US Congress and add all of the folks who sought to run for the Presidential nominations this year, I just shrug my shoulders and think that it would be difficult for Tim Tebow to lower the efficacy of that mélange of folks. Therefore, in the spirit of constructive suggestion, allow me to offer some unsolicited advice to Tim Tebow:
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Be sure you choose to RUN for public office. You will probably be less likely to succeed if you try to PASS your way into office.
A UNC fan has started a petition at Change.org. This petition seeks to nullify Villanova’s win in the final game last Monday night on the basis of poor/biased officiating. As of this morning, 2600 folks have signed onto this petition. Here is the link to that petition in case you want to sign on.
By the way, even if this petition were to gain 2 million signatures, the message I would have for the originator and all of the signatories is very simple:
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Good luck getting the NCAA to pay attention for even a nanosecond…
The NFL will implement a new rule this Fall that would automatically eject any player guilty of 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a single game. Coaches do not like the rule; I think it will not amount to much since it is rare for there to be two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a game let alone 2 on the same player. However, the rule that might have a much greater effect on player safety would be a rule that links ejection to personal foul penalties. Consider one of these scenarios:
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If a player commits two personal fouls of any variety in a single game, he is ejected from that game immediately. If this happens in the first half of said game, he may play in the next game. If this happens in the second half of said game, he will sit out the rest of the game and the first half of the next game.
A player is allowed 4 personal foul penalties in a season. Upon commission of the 5th personal foul, he is ejected from that game and will be suspended for the next game. For each personal foul beyond the 5th one, he will be immediately ejected and suspended also.
Speaking of the NFL and obliquely about player safety in the NFL, consider this comment from Bob Molinaro in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:
“Isn’t it rich: If timing is everything, what are we to make of this? While the New York Times writes, and the NFL denies, the league under-reported the number of player concussions over the years, Roger Goodell will be honored next week with the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program Leadership in Sports Health, Safety and Research Award. Is this somebody’s idea of satire?”
Meanwhile, I think it is fair to say that Greg Cote of the Miami Herald is not particularly impressed with the news that the Cleveland Browns signed RG3 as their QB for next year.
“This just in. The Cleveland Browns are giving a tryout to Ryan Leaf and the late Otto Graham.”
Finally, here is an item from Brad Rock in the Deseret News regarding player names:
“A British man — with a little help from his good friend alcohol — has changed his name from Simon Smith to Bacon Double Cheeseburger.
“He says it hasn’t affected his job.
“’My work speaks for itself … people keep hiring me,’ he told the BBC.
“Somewhere Metta World Peace is thinking: ‘Maybe if I changed my name to Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad …’”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………