What Happened to the Women's Movements?

 

What Happened to the Women’s Movements?

Written by Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown March 20, 2022

 

It all begins and ends with a person’s or an organization’s principles.  They either have them or they don’t.  They have either placed a dollar figure on their principles that unless that figure is reached, they will stand by their principles, otherwise, they will take the money and run like Hell.  That is what we have been watching in America and I assume around the world for the past 2 or 3 decades, maybe longer.

Look at the National Football League (NFL) and in particular its Commissioner Roger Goodell.  Shortly after the vicious attack that killed 5 police officers in Dallas, the Dallas Cowboys wanted to place a decal on their helmets to support the fallen officers.  Roger Goodell denied their request.  Standing on principles previously set by the NFL.  Then you fast forward to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee and suddenly a display for a social issue was not only permissible, it appeared to be encouraged as evidenced by placing the name of a convict felon that was killed by a police officer, on the helmets of players on all NFL teams.  At the time I was a New Orleans Saints fan and to see the name George Floyd on Drew Brees’ helmet turned my stomach.  Even before that, as a retired military member, I took offense to what Kaepernick and Goodell did when they and the entire NFL collectively began to “take a knee” during the National Anthem.  If I have to explain my outrage, I would suggest you quit reading this Nugget but you obviously fail to understand a great deal of what has been happening and you probably have willfully or unwilfully been a part of it.  You have placed a desire to watch a football game over your own personal principles.  By so doing, you have supported taking a knee is professional sports.  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

Enter Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans, another NFL story.  There is no question that he is a very talented Quarterback, both in college and in his several years in the NFL.  He had a disagreement with the “front office” of the Texans and decided to sit out the last year of his no trade contract.  Then in 2022, there were at least 4 teams that showed an interest in signing him to their team.  So far so good, Watson appeared to have stood up for “his principles” by sitting out a year in opposition to his front office.  But then the story began to develop that Watson had engaged in sexual misconduct with a woman and then another woman and then another and another.  By the time the negotiations with the Cleveland Browns had been completed with Watson to sign with the Browns, there were 22 Civil Legal Actions pending against Watson filed by women who he had allegedly abused in one way or another.  In Watson’s defense, he was acquitted by a Grand Jury for criminal actions but that does not remove the actions from being resolved in a civil court of law.  Still, the Browns basically thumbed their noses to the abused women and all of the women fans that may follow football and women in general by negotiating and signing a suspected sexual abuser to the biggest contract ever singed by an NFL player.  Plus, there were at least 3 other teams that were willing to “overlook” his behavior and sign him to a lucrative contract as well.  Where were the Women’s Groups?  Nowhere to be found.  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

President Joe Biden selected and had approved Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD as the new Health and Human Services Secretary in his administration.  Admiral Levine was known during her time in the U. S. Navy as Mr. Levine, a man.  He is now referred to as Madam Secretary Levine, a transgender woman.  Mr. Levine became Ms. Levine.  There is nothing wrong with a person deciding that he be preferred to be recognized as a woman or a woman being recognized as a man.  What makes this assignment so disgusting to me is that Admiral Levine was recently selected as The Woman of the Year by USA Today.  What is wrong with that?  USA Today can select anyone they wish to be Woman of the Year, right?  Absolutely they can.  Do I have to like it?  Absolutely NOT!  Do I like it?  Absolutely NOT!  Why not?  It is NOT because she is a transgender who was selected as HHS Secretary, it is because she is NOT a woman and when an organization like USA Today selects a MAN who declared to be a WOMAN as Woman of the Year, that honor will then NOT go to a Woman who it truly belongs to.  This is not that big of a deal in the business world but what about the world of sports.  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

Lia Thomas, once competed as a man in swimming in non-professional events (this is important for a later comment) and recently won an NCAA Championship in the 200 Freestyle as a woman.  Lia Thomas has been destroying women’s swimming records whenever she competes.  I don’t know of anyone that thinks that a man competing in a woman’s sport is fair.  Yet the NCAA apparently has no issues with it thumbing its nose to decades of women who strived to make women sports the special events they are today.  Several State Governors have been working on legislation that prohibits men from competing in women sports and the NCAA that governs collegiate sports has fought the Governors telling them that they will not conduct competitions within their state if the bills are passed.  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

The same has been true for MEN completing as WOMEN in weight lifting competition where women’s records have been smashed.  Who can’t understand the difference here?  Again, SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

Where will this all go?  When universities and coaches realize that men can swim faster than women, they will sign more men onto the women’s swim teams after all, they will have a better chance of winning.  Apparently winning is far more important than actual women’s rights.  Same would apply to track and field such as weight lifting, sprinting, shot putting, pole vaulting, etc.  When a man signing on as a woman to a college team, the man may in fact be doing so with a scholarship that otherwise would have been assigned to a woman.  Not only a woman, but a woman who from a very young age practicee and competed with other woman to eventually be considered for a college scholarship only to be beaten out by a man declaring to be a woman.  Is that fair?  Where are the women’s groups?  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES

Here is a thought to ponder.  If you are a golfer, you know that there are tees for men, tees for women and tees and tees for seniors.  The men’s and women’s tee’s typically have several tees to either shorten the hole or lengthen the hole.  The Professional Golf Association (PGA) Men’s tournaments are typically played from the tees at the farthest distance to the hole making playing the hole that more difficult.  There is little doubt that a man can hit a golf ball much farther than a woman, even the best woman golfers.  With that said, what is going to happen when a man with better than average golf skills but who is unable to successfully compete on the level required to compete on a PGA sanctioned event, then decides to declare himself to be a woman and then play as a professional on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour?  Now we are talking about earning money that otherwise would be earned by a woman professional golfer.  Who considers that to be fair?  I predict that this day will come, sooner rather than later.  Remember, you heard it here first!  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

I hate to think that the many woman’s organizations are political but I think we all know better.  We saw many organized protests throughout the four years of the Trump Administration and none during the first year of the Biden Administration.  Nor did we see them during 8 years of the Obama Administration.  Where are the women’s groups now?  Why am I, a man, writing about how silent women’s organizations have been regarding securing the integrity of women’s sports?  Do you think that this will only apply to sports?  Think again.  Corporations have for years recognized that their Boards of Directors have to be more “inclusive”, meaning that they should consist of more women and minorities in spite of who may be best qualified.  Look at Joe Biden’s cabinet.  He now claims that he has one more woman on his cabinet. Is that true or does he have a man taking the place of where a woman may have actually been selected.  And to make matters worse, USA Today then declared that woman who is a man to be The Woman of the Year!  People, you can’t make this crap up!  SO MUCH FOR PRINCIPLES!

I am not against anyone declaring that they are suddenly a different gender, that is their choice.  But don’t pretend just making the declaration evens the playing field in business and in sports.  It doesn’t! Men will be physically structured as men and women physically structured as women and their physical bodies are not the same nor do they perform the same in sports!  You don’t have to be a doctor of medicine to understand this.  In business the differences are not so profound but they still exist. Then to select one as Woman of the Year is just over the top for me.  You?  I still have principles, do you?