From the Sidelines: Female Athletes set their own sports standards

A woman belongs in two places: the bedroom and the kitchen--in that order. So said tennis player Bobby Riggs as he geared up for a match against the then-number-one woman on the pro-tour, Billie Jean King. Riggs, the winner of three Grand Slam titles, was certain that any good male club player could beat the top women on the tennis tour.

Battle of the Sexes. Today, if a top male athlete made a statement like Riggs's, he would more than likely find himself boycotted, booed, or nearly castrated by the masses of women dedicated to athletic endeavors (and probably by the general female population). It seems to me, however, that while the times might have changed, the viewpoints have not. Women have long been criticized for being inferior to men on all playing surfaces, and while that opinion might not necessarily be voiced, it still exists.

But throughout the sporting world, the fairer sex is leveling the playing field as they challenge men on their own turf. It is no longer uncommon to see female place-kickers, wrestlers, or hockey players suited up with the guys. Diamonds may just be forever, as far as many female baseball players are concerned. Women fill the dugout of the Silver Bullets in Colorado, an all-female team in the minors.

Some are looking past the minors and towards the big leagues. Ila Borders is a pitcher at NAIA Southern California College. The lefty's fastball has been clocked at 82 mph. She also has a curve, a changeup with screwball-like action, and is working on adding a slider to her repertoire. Come June, Borders will join the hundreds of other players anxiously anticipating a pick in the major league draft.

In the case of our good friend Bobby Riggs, he found out first hand that a woman's place also includes the tennis court. The match between King and him, known as The Battle of the Sexes, still reigns as the most watched match ever. In the milestone event, King put Riggs in his place by handing him a straight-set defeat, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Comparing Apples and Oranges. It would not be fair to end my Bobby Riggs story here. While King was able to make quick work of Riggs, not all the women were able to hold their own. Previous to the match with King, Riggs easily defeated Margaret Court, the number-two woman on the tour. It appears that while some women have emerged with athletic abilities greater than or equal to their male counterparts, they still remain exceptions to the rule. The fact is, men and women are inherently different, so it follows that men's and women's athletics are different as well.

For the most part, women are smaller, have a greater percentage of body fat, and have less muscle mass. This puts them at an obvious disadvantage when going head to head against males in most sports. They move at a different pace, require different technique, and are, in general...different.

As author Mariah Nelson notes, "[People] would never think of comparing Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammed Ali. One weighed 60 pounds more than the other. Clearly, they deserve to box in different classes. Yet the top female tennis player is often compared to the top male player...who usually outweighs her by sixty pounds." It's unfair to hold the same athletic expectations for men and women; we should consider them to be separate, but equal.

A League of Their Own. Any basketball fan knows how tough it is to get tickets to a Final Four men's game. Now, tickets to the Final Four of next year's NCAA women's basketball tournament will be available only through a lottery. This year, the women's championship game was the most watched NCAA basketball game, men's or women's, on ESPN since 1990.

Women's sports are quickly becoming a separate entity from men's. Women should no longer hold men up as their standards for comparison, but should look to achieve athletic success in their own rite. To those who can break the gender barrier, more power to you. But with factors such as Title IX, corporate sponsorships, and television coverage bolstering women's athletics, women competing against women is becoming just as exciting a spectator event as anything else. The success of leagues like the WNBA will allow the quality and popularity of women's sports to continue to grow.

I am amazed at how far women have come. They have proved that they can be worthy adversaries in male-dominated sports, but at the same time they have developed a competitive domain good enough to stand on its own. Women in sports are on the brink of reaching the point where they no longer have to be compared to men, for their athletic abilities will simply speak for themselves. I wonder what Bobby Riggs would have to say about that.

Back to Sports...