I would have to agree with Nathan and say that MMA needs its own categories, i.e. best male and fema...more
posted Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 2:28am PDT on Mark Wahlberg has his Tightie Whities in a Bunch
What's Next, Jail Time?
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posted by Women's Sports Blog An irreverent look at the news, issues, and personalities of women's sports from a feminist perspective. |
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WPS is not a criminal justice body. This is worth mentioning because according to Dan Lauletta, Kia McNeill has been "ordered to perform four hours of community service" as part of her suspension from the league following a nasty, cleats-up swoop on Barnhart last week. This strikes me as inappropriate A. as a penalty imposed by a sports league and B. for a fairly minor infraction. If the negative action had specifically had an impact on the community, if she had been obnoxious to fans for instance, perhaps community service would have been the right remedy. As it is, it is immediately reminiscent of the results of a criminal proceeding, and the fact that this particular penalty was hauled out against a black player on top of a (possibly excessive) two game suspension is disturbing. Make no mistake, McNeill makes a habit of dangerous fouls and deserved at least some soccer-related punishment for this play. But there are plenty of other players who are particularly reckless. Marta broke Kandace Wilson's leg with a bump tackle last year, and she didn't even get red-carded. It's hard not to think that the long history of branding McNeill as a special offender may be related to common stereotypes about black athletes and their physicality. The majority of African-American (as opposed to Afro-British or black Brazilian) players still get placed on defense, even if they have a history of playing forward, because they're associated with athleticism rather than skill. This is the black quarterback problem as transferred to soccer Thankfully, the current iteration of the league is much more diverse than the last, and with a new wave of black players coming up through the U-20 ranks, American soccer will keep trending away from its lily-white past.
View Original Post at ftlouie.typepad.com/womensports
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