In the early hours of Friday August 13, newspaper printing presses across
the country were humming with news from the 2004 Olympic games in Greece.
Everywhere, newspapers were featuring the picture of the Iraqi soccer
players in a joyous embrace following their stunning 4-2 victory over
Portugal.
But at USA Today, the presses were churning out a very different message.
On the front page, USA Today featured a story on "U.S. gymnasts look bound
for glory." Despite its title, the article turned out to be only about
female gymnasts. No mention of the men.
In the Sports section, the first page was graced by photos of swimmer Katie
Hoff and volleyball players Kerri Walsh and Misty May. Again, the male
athletes were nowhere to be seen.
Swimmer Michael Phelps, seeking to eclipse Mark Spitz' record of seven gold
medals, is arguably the most talented American athlete competing in this
summer's Olympics. But at USA Today, gender counted for more than talent, so
his story was buried on page 4F.
And the miraculous Iraqi soccer win? That piece was neatly tucked away on
page 2C, below the fold.
Overall, women's sports ruled. And men's athletics were practically an
afterthought.
How did USA Today's coverage of the Olympics become so biased? That question
can be answered in two words: Christine Brennan.
Christine Brennan, the person who organized the articles, is the well-known
sports reporter at USA Today. Brennan is an ardent proponent of female
athletics and she's a doctrinaire feminist.
Brennan does not hesitate to ridicule men's athletics. She has referred to
college wrestling as "malarkey" and football programs as "bloated." Once
Brennan wrote a smart-alecky
column why men should swoon over women's figure
skating.
Of course, Brennan believes that female athletes should be paid the same as
men, despite the fact that professional women's sports is a proven money
loser. Look at what happened to the now-defunct Women's United Soccer
Association. And the Women's National Basketball Association is barely
staying afloat.
But when women choose to not fill the stadiums and arenas, Brennan blames
the sports editors who don't create new beats to cover female athletics.
"The sports world is changing, and we're barely reflecting this. There is no
excuse for this," the hyperventilating Brennan
exclaimed.
But above all, Brennan is an unabashed supporter of Title IX. In a 2002
interview, Brennan
described
Title IX as mandating "proportionality and
equality for men and women in terms of having opportunities to play sports."
If you're looking for an example of loopy feminist logic, it doesn't get any
better than that.
Because the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools doesn't
say anything about "proportionality." Proportionality is fem-speak for
"quotas." Proportionality is the highly controversial term that the Clinton
administration used to justify the elimination of hundreds of men's
swimming, golf, and wrestling teams.
According to the Independent Women's Forum,
males are twice as likely as
females to participate in colleagiate intramural and club sports. And
at ESPN, male viewers outnumber females three to one. So how can anyone
expect that women will want to participate in sports in numbers that are
"proportional" to their college enrollments?
I'm an unabashed fan of women's tennis and figure skating. I love the
artistry and grace.
But many of the Olympic sports have little to do with artistry or grace.
Cycling, rowing, running, and swimming all come down to one thing: speed.
And events like shot-putting and weight-lifting are tests of brute strength.
Despite Ms. Brennan's good intentions, she would have to admit that in those
departments, men outclass the women.
Radical feminists believe that women should achieve complete statistical
uniformity with men. Experience proves that feminists are willing to resort
to heavy-handed tactics such as propaganda-like media coverage and
heavy-handed quotas to reach that goal.
But the truth is, if women don't get involved in athletics in similar
numbers as men, that has nothing to do with discrimination or patriarchal
oppression. That's about women exercising their right to free choice.
