2/13/03 - Maybe it's because it is proximal to Valentine's Day that there is a confluence of events in the sporting world that put women and men in juxtaposition. After all, that has become the single most important objective regarding Valentine's Day; juxtaposing men and women, no? Or maybe it is the alignment of the planets. Or maybe it just happened.
First we have the Anika Sorenstam announcement that she will play in a PGA event in Fort Worth, Texas this summer. I think that is an outstanding thing and I have to believe that the city fathers in Fort Worth are sitting around in amazement wondering how they lucked out in becoming the venue for this event. I am sure that golf fans know about the tournament that is called The Colonial. Honestly, if anyone had asked me about this tournament a week ago, I would have guessed that it was played in Williamsburg or suburban Boston or someplace like that. To say I know nothing of the history of this magnificent event would be - - absolutely accurate. But this year, everyone will know about it, and Fort Worth will cash in on it.
Based on last year's LPGA results, Anika Sorenstam dominated the tour. So it makes sense for her to give it a shot in a PGA event to see if she can cut it there. There are protests from men who believe that some male is being deprived a chance to compete but the protests are bogus. She got a sponsor's exemption. I don't know who the sponsor is, but normally, their exemptions go to people with some tie to the sponsor – like maybe the top salesman for last year or the accountant who has still kept undiscovered the shenanigans that would get half the executive suite fired and indicted.
For me, the question is what happens after The Colonial is over. I think that what happens depends very strongly on how Anika Sorenstam does in the competition. If she wins the tournament, look for her to play in more PGA events and for her to be the second hottest "property" in golf. (By the way, Sorenstam is managed by IMG, which is the same company that manages Tiger Woods and a dozen other top golfers so she is very well connected in that aspect of the game.) Do I expect her to win? Absolutely not; but it is not impossible.
If she plays well and is actually on the leader board on Sunday, look for her to be offered other sponsor exemptions and for her to take one or two of them. If she misses the cut by a mile, this phenomenon will probably become far less newsworthy.
Will the LPGA allow a man to play in one of their tournaments? My guess is probably not. And there will be chauvinistic men and would-be debaters who will say in full righteous indignation that the PGA is an inclusive organization and the LPGA is an exclusive organization. And when they say that, it will be absolutely true. And when they say that, it will be utterly irrelevant. This is not about inclusion and exclusion; this is not about social justice; this is not about some cosmic principle; it's golf.
Now if I were running the LPGA – and let me say that in that job I'd be about as useful as a hip pocket on a T-shirt – I would capitalize on this moment and get a sponsor's exemption for a man in an LPGA event. But I would not go after a top flight PGA golfer who would probably run away from the field and make the tournament less than exciting. I would see if I could talk someone who is an "ambassador of the game" to do this - someone like Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus. They could play and give credibility to the LPGA even if they don't dominate the field. They would probably opt out of this and then I might turn to someone like Casey Martin or someone else who has name recognition. The LPGA is a minor league tour; having Anika Sorenstam dominate it and make the events less than very exciting does not help; maybe they should use the confluence of current events for a promotional flurry. Not likely to happen.
Teresa Phillips is the Athletic Director at Tennessee State University will coach the men's basketball team in their next game. The coach was suspended after the riot that saw 19 players ejected from a game earlier this week. She is not totally over her head; she was a women's basketball coach before becoming AD; so this is not a case of pure grandstanding. The team is a mess. They are 2-19 for the season and this is the school that lost Nolan Richardson III as its coach in January after he got into an argument with an assistant coach and then went to his car and brought a gun into the gym. Oh yeah, the assistant then is the coach now who just got suspended. The basketball program at TSU is circling the drain!
Some folks think this is purely a grandstand play; and of course, the Women's Sports Foundation felt compelled to chime in with a statement that was covered by many media outlets. Hold onto your hats here. The Women's Sports Foundation thinks it is high time that a woman coached at the Division 1 level of men's college basketball and that prejudice is the sole reason it has not happened before this. I'm telling you that there are media outlets that actually think that statement is newsworthy. What else might anyone expect this organization that can only perpetuate itself by getting publicity? Actually, I hope that Phillips leads TSU to a win because then I want to hear the regular coach explain why he could not do what Phillips did and bring victory.
Should there be women coaching Division I men's basketball? There are probably several women who are as qualified to do that as some incumbent men's coaches today. If they want a shot at a job, they should be considered. But I do believe that women at that level will be at a recruiting disadvantage. It will not center on the kind of "negative recruiting" that exists in women's basketball where some coaches are painted as lesbians and not wholesome. The recruiting disadvantage they will face will be in getting blue chip players to come to their programs to establish themselves sufficiently to create a program that has some longevity. I'm not ready to accept the general platitudes that young men are now more aware and more sensitive to the need to blur gender lines and will therefore treat all of this with transparency. Sounds good; sounds like what people who think that teaching courses in that stuff have to say to justify their existence. I just don't believe we are anywhere near that status today.
I began this rant with reference to Valentine's Day and the juxtaposition of men and women in sports. And that lets me close with an image of men and women competing in a sport that is something no one wants to see – even and especially on Valentine's Day. For the record, I never want to see Co-ed Sumo Wrestling.
But don't get me wrong, I love sports...
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