• nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
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    13 hours ago

    Do away with gendered leagues and put it into a multi-tiered system when people compete for positions in different tiers, and potentially have multiple paths so that people can see games of sheer power or precise technique and there’s never a situation like three Pats or the Yankees where money is what buys the best team (all players in a tier would have similar performance).

    • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      I’ve been under the impression that the top leagues NFL, MLB, NHL, etc… aren’t necessarily gendered, but women just can’t compete. That’s why they have women only leagues so they have a place they can compete. Am I wrong about this?

      • Suru@mander.xyz
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        13 hours ago

        There are sports where women have reached or surpassed men’s records, for example long-distance endurance races or some accuracy-based competitions. Anything where raw explosive strength or size isn’t the main deciding factor. There are examples in history where women have been banned from participating in specific sports because they have been able to win in competition with men.

        I think, for the leagues you listed, size, strength and speed are often key, and as such most men have an advantage over most women. I don’t doubt there could be exceptions to that rule.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          11 hours ago

          I have asked people like this multiple times if the best WNBA player is better than the worst NBA player, and they usually say yes without having any possible way to know that.

          • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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            1 hour ago

            I mean, you could ask me instead of assume. I would respond I have no idea about that specifically because I don’t like basketball and don’t pay attention to it at all. However, I do watch the NHL and the PWHL. Do I think the worst NHL player is better than the best PWHL player? Yes. I don’t even think the PWHL is at the AHL level of play. Just watching the speed of the plays, the structure of the plays, they’re not close. The PWHL play is more like men’s collegiate play. So, if you’re asking me if I would rather draft someone at that play level that is in their prime playing at their peak, or someone that is playing at that level who is a young player with room to grow, it’s an obvious choice.

            Here’s the other part of that. The PWHL is an incredibly young league only 2 years old and with only 6 teams. It takes time, generations even, to develop the interest and the infrastructure to support young women/girls in hockey (or anything). You don’t wave a magic wand and suddenly have a vast pool of women that can play at that level. Do I think that league will mature and get younger women interested in playing more and fostering even better future talent? I really hope so, I would love to see it. At that point, will my answer change? It’s very possible. Circling back to your WNBA question. The WNBA is a much more mature league, 28 years old with 15 teams. We’re probably just now seeing the true “fruits of the labor” of that league. I’m just entirely unqualified to make that kind of judgment because I have zero interest in that sport. But even I know of Caitlin Clark, and that speaks volumes.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 hour ago

              Assume what? I wasn’t even talking to you.

              Or is this a “I forgot which sockpuppet I was using” situation?

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Ah yes, the Air Bud rule of women in men’s sports.

        Do you think any woman would have a chance in those leagues? The minute they even tried, they would start getting so much shit.

        Jackie Robinson was one of the bravest men who ever lived. He was far from the first to try to break the “unwritten” color barrier in baseball. Everyone else who tried had been driven off before they could even start. And I’m guessing he wasn’t getting the rape threats any woman who wanted to try would get.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            2 hours ago

            Of course not. Do you think all the black men who tried to break the color barrier before Jackie Robinson weren’t brave enough?

            Saying, “this isn’t worth me putting up with” when you have to put up with death threats or rape threats for something like being on a sports team is not cowardice.

            This is like claiming that a black family who moves out of town after a cross is burnt on their lawn are cowards. I sincerely hope you don’t believe that.

            • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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              2 hours ago

              I didn’t make any such claim. You did. Now you’re back peddling, so I guess there wasn’t any point to your previous comment?

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                2 hours ago

                I didn’t say you made that claim. Hence my using the word “like.”

                And how am I backpedaling at all? You asked me if I thought they were cowards and I said no and explained why. That’s literally the opposite of backpedaling.

                Did you just not bother reading anything I wrote before responding?