Recently sexism in the sporting world has been a hot topic on the press, with many people arguing either side about whether sport really is sexist. I will intend to argue both sides of the discussion, and hope to draw some conclusions about the sporting world and what we could realistically expect in the next few years.
Sexism is like a cold. It'll always be there because it exists in so many forms, in different degrees of seriousness. There isn't a friendship group alive that doesn't make some sexist jokes, be that male to female or vice versa, even if they are tongue in cheek. So to expect a traditionally male dominated area like sport to not be sexist overnight is ridiculous. That said, it doesn't make it right. Judging someone as worse before you have had a chance to see what they can do is unfair, whatever you base that opinion on. This is what happened to one Lionel Messi as a boy, he was too small, so judged to be not good enough. As we have seen, that was a ridiculous judgement to make. So should women be allowed to play in the same leagues as men in sport? And does the argument that women should get paid the same amount stand up?
The answer to the second question, in my opinion, is largely no. If the male form of the game attracts the most interest/investment/viewers, as is largely the case, then the men should get paid more due to basic economics. The average man is stronger and faster than the average woman, and the same holds at the top of the sports, which would give men an advantage if sports were unisex, so the sports are split according to gender. If a woman wanted to swap to the male side of the sport, she would have to be prepared to be at a disadvantage physically, if not technically. So my answer to the first question would be yes, but on the same conditions as the men. Sport is reaching a tipping point in regards to sexism, but it should not start making it easier for women to play in male sports, as this would risk lowering the viewership of the sport, and making sexism even more of an issue. If the sports governing body are saying that women aren't good enough to play under the same conditions, what are the general public going to think?
I would love to think that in the modern world we live in that we are getting close to a point where women are going to begin playing in male sports, but i don't see it happening for a while. Football is not the sport I think is going to make the breakthrough, because although you may be able to punish the players that behave in a sexist way towards a female player, your average season ticket holder is not going to be worried about sparing the feelings of this first player. Especially the first time this female player gives the ball away. If the breakthrough for women is going to be made, it's not going to be a contact sport, at least not on the pitch.
The fact that there are no women in coaching roles in male sport shows how sexist the game, as well as the players, can be. To have a female manager would have no bearing surely, as it is the technical mind that matters. The only reason I can imagine this not happening is that the players would not respect the female manager, and you can see from people like Ashley Cole and John Terry that they don't respect women anyway, god help it if that woman tried to tell them to do something. Sexism in sport exists because sexism exists, it's never going to completely go away, which is a real shame.
I really hope that sports can become more inclusive, even if its not football. Surely we should look at more purely technical sports to make the first step? Snooker, darts or Olympic sports like Archery? These give no benefit to being stronger/taller/faster, so there should be a much smaller gender gap, if any at all. I would never force sports to be unisex, I would just offer women the chance to try if they wanted to. Tennis is one of the only sports I can think of where the genders are seemingly on equal standing. They have the same prize money, and at times they even play together. There are no rules to favour the women in Mixed doubles either, and there can be no bias if the governing body of the sport wants to eradicate sexism.
So yes, sport is sexist, but that's not sports fault, most of the world is sexist. But that doesn't mean sport shouldn't try harder. F1 has just got its first female test driver, and Bernie Ecclestone has already hit on her. People like him need to be kicked out of sport, and I would love to see more women in technical positions amongst sport, because some of the female coaches I have encountered over my time in sport have been just as good as their male counterparts. If football can make the first move, brilliant, but I think it has to come from other sports for football to take the sexism row seriously.
Someone be brave, please.
Showing posts with label Formula 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Formula 1. Show all posts
Friday, 13 April 2012
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Another Victory for Bristish Sport...
After a weekend of British sporting success only one week ago, we are hit once again with British success, in two areas. And they were brilliant performances as well.
Cricket
If this cricket match did anything it reaffirmed that even if India manage to not lose this series by the 2 matches England require to top the rankings, England are the best test side in the world. I feel I can say this with absolute confidence for 3 reasons.
1 - Even without the No.1 spin bowler in the world (Graeme Swann) bowling much the England attack tore through the Indian lineup, famous for, if nothing else, sticking it out. Dravid and Laxxman, who have proved almost impossible to remove over the years, were at ends today and even Sachin Tendulkar had no idea how to play Anderson.
2 - When batting, not until all wickets are down are England dead. For years I have resigned myself to the fact that our batting stopped at the fall of the fifth or sixth wicket, but that's not the case anymore. Broads hundred runs in the match as well as Bresnans 90 in the second innings showed that these players are closer to all rounders than we've had before, and Swann isn't a dummy with the bat, whilst Anderson isn't easy to remove either.
3 - This England team has years to go. Andrew Strauss is the oldest member of the team at 34 and most of the team are in their twenties, and in cricket this means you've got quite a few years to go still. The top Indian players are all 30 or over (Dhoni 30, Laxman 36, Dravid 38, Tendulkar 38, Khan 32). And you also have to consider the youngest English bowler ever to take 50 wickets was left out (Finn), and is a serious talent for the future.
If India wanted to stake a claim for the No.1 spot, they should have finished the game off from having 124-8 and really struggling. The players looked awful in the field and no-one really seemed to want to step up and take control for India. I will however say the MS Dhoni deserves a special mention for withdrawing the appeal against Ian Bell, the dismissal, although stupid from Bell's point of view, was against the spirit of the game and they did the right thing.
In regards to the rest of the series, if India don't find something to actually put England in trouble, this could become a series whitewash very quickly.
Formula One
After a great race from Lewis Hamilton last week, McLaren followed it up with proof that their car is now equal, if not ahead of, that of Red Bull. My prediction was McLaren to put two drivers on the podium and they looked to be set for a 1-2, after some classy driving from both McLaren men which emphasised their ability in the wet and changeable conditions. Only a poor decision from Lewis Hamilton meant that McLaren did not get the finish they wanted. With it spitting and the track getting slippery for Slick tyres, Hamilton made the decision to come in and put intermediate tyres on. However this proved to be a foolish move as it then stopped spitting, and the track dried very quickly, meaning he had to make another pit stop soon after for dry tyres. This mistake was compounded by the stewards handing Lewis a drive through penalty for spinning his car round near passing traffic, which meant Lewis went through the pits 3 times in 5 laps. If Lewis had stayed out he would have been on the podium, even with the drive through penalty he was punished with. If Mclaren can keep this type of progress up then it could make for an interesting finish, despite Vettel managing to extend his lead in the Drivers Championship again. This was another great win for Button, who has to be considered the master of wet races out of the current drivers around. As Hamilton said,"The better driver won today."
The next race is in 3 weeks time in Belgium, I shall do another weekend report at the time, with a prediction followed by a race report.
Later this week I will get round to finally posting my transfer roundup, with who I think will have to fight hard this season for survival, and who should be sitting at the top of the pack come May.
Cricket
If this cricket match did anything it reaffirmed that even if India manage to not lose this series by the 2 matches England require to top the rankings, England are the best test side in the world. I feel I can say this with absolute confidence for 3 reasons.
1 - Even without the No.1 spin bowler in the world (Graeme Swann) bowling much the England attack tore through the Indian lineup, famous for, if nothing else, sticking it out. Dravid and Laxxman, who have proved almost impossible to remove over the years, were at ends today and even Sachin Tendulkar had no idea how to play Anderson.
2 - When batting, not until all wickets are down are England dead. For years I have resigned myself to the fact that our batting stopped at the fall of the fifth or sixth wicket, but that's not the case anymore. Broads hundred runs in the match as well as Bresnans 90 in the second innings showed that these players are closer to all rounders than we've had before, and Swann isn't a dummy with the bat, whilst Anderson isn't easy to remove either.
3 - This England team has years to go. Andrew Strauss is the oldest member of the team at 34 and most of the team are in their twenties, and in cricket this means you've got quite a few years to go still. The top Indian players are all 30 or over (Dhoni 30, Laxman 36, Dravid 38, Tendulkar 38, Khan 32). And you also have to consider the youngest English bowler ever to take 50 wickets was left out (Finn), and is a serious talent for the future.
If India wanted to stake a claim for the No.1 spot, they should have finished the game off from having 124-8 and really struggling. The players looked awful in the field and no-one really seemed to want to step up and take control for India. I will however say the MS Dhoni deserves a special mention for withdrawing the appeal against Ian Bell, the dismissal, although stupid from Bell's point of view, was against the spirit of the game and they did the right thing.
In regards to the rest of the series, if India don't find something to actually put England in trouble, this could become a series whitewash very quickly.
Formula One
After a great race from Lewis Hamilton last week, McLaren followed it up with proof that their car is now equal, if not ahead of, that of Red Bull. My prediction was McLaren to put two drivers on the podium and they looked to be set for a 1-2, after some classy driving from both McLaren men which emphasised their ability in the wet and changeable conditions. Only a poor decision from Lewis Hamilton meant that McLaren did not get the finish they wanted. With it spitting and the track getting slippery for Slick tyres, Hamilton made the decision to come in and put intermediate tyres on. However this proved to be a foolish move as it then stopped spitting, and the track dried very quickly, meaning he had to make another pit stop soon after for dry tyres. This mistake was compounded by the stewards handing Lewis a drive through penalty for spinning his car round near passing traffic, which meant Lewis went through the pits 3 times in 5 laps. If Lewis had stayed out he would have been on the podium, even with the drive through penalty he was punished with. If Mclaren can keep this type of progress up then it could make for an interesting finish, despite Vettel managing to extend his lead in the Drivers Championship again. This was another great win for Button, who has to be considered the master of wet races out of the current drivers around. As Hamilton said,"The better driver won today."
The next race is in 3 weeks time in Belgium, I shall do another weekend report at the time, with a prediction followed by a race report.
Later this week I will get round to finally posting my transfer roundup, with who I think will have to fight hard this season for survival, and who should be sitting at the top of the pack come May.
Friday, 29 July 2011
Sporting Update
One week into this blog and a lot has happened this week, so be prepared for a long read...or just pick the sports you want to know about...
NFL
2 Years Ago and you would have not caught me even mentioning the American sport, but after being drawn to watching it I have fallen for NFL. I bought Madden NFL 11
and have immensely enjoyed all modes of the game, being drafted into the Minnesota Vikings in the Be a SuperStar mode (similar to Fifa's be a pro mode) and taking the same team to the Superbowl in the franchise mode. And if you know anything about the sport, you know that there was a big fear that there was going to be a delay to the start of the season because of a 'Lockout'. For those people who do not follow any American sport, this word spreads dread around the American sporting nation, as the teams and the players fight over who gets the money the sport generates. I think an idea like this would be fantastic in the Premier League and European football, but its taken this long for UEFA to get round to fair spending laws that something like this would take years longer to implement.
However, the lockout has been fixed with an agreement made, 53% to teams, 47% to players, and training is due to begin today, after a week of draft picks and re-signings. I'm sorry to anyone reading this to try and get a summary of all the trades that are going on, but there's no way I can report on the sheer volume of movement. Just before the start of the season I will sum up the biggest signings of the off-season, and my picks to make the Superbowl.
Cricket
I was very happy to be on track with my prediction for the 1st Test match with England recording a comfortable victory after a fantastic last day performance from the England bowlers. However I was disappointed by the Indian batting line-up, and in particular the little master, who failed again to perform on a big stage. His batting was ultra-defensive, even Dravid had a faster scoring rate, and was lucky to last as long as it did. His technique was sloppy and I really don't think hes anywhere near the same player he was. However that wasn't the factor that lead to the loss. To be the top side in the world you have to be strong in all three aspects of the game, batting bowling and fielding. Their batting and bowling definitely lives up to the mark, at least on occasions, but their fielding is woeful. They are lazy, haphazard and even their wicketkeeper is sloppy. Out of the two keeper-batsmen in the match Prior would get the gloves everytime, even if you could argue Dhoni is a better batsmen on average.
At the time of writing this England are 108-6 in their first innings, but apparently the conditions are extremely favourable to bowlers, so I think whoever takes a lead into the second innings will stand a huge chance of winning, but I wouldn't like to guess at a winner. If England can get around 200 or more, they'll fancy themselves to get India out cheaply, with the swing bowlers they have at their disposal.
Football
Man City have caught the transfer headlines once again with the ridiculous money capture of Aguero, but were also in the headlines for the wrong reasons with a previous signing, Balotelli. Balotelli should have been fined for that shoddy show of disregard for the friendly, Mancini was right to pull him off when he did, players should treat every game 100% and his lack of respect for the club and manager came through then. Personally, I'd sell him, his temper is unacceptable for a Premier League player. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14270989.stm
Aguero, however, could be a great capture, even if the price they paid was a bit over the odds. His skill and pace could make him a real handful in the premiership, and its exactly the player city need if Tevez is on his way.
Check next week for a roundup of whose moved and who looks to be on their way in the last month of the transfer window.
Formula One
After Hamilton's storming victory in Germany last week McLaren seem to be moving in the right direction after the first day of Practice in Hungary, with Hamilton topping the time sheet in both sessions. In a reversal of fortune, both Red Bull drivers seem to be struggling after their rivals sudden improvement on the technical side of things, languishing in around 5th place in the second practice. I'm backing Lewis Hamilton to take his second in a row, and a chance for Jenson Button to go high as well, with Alonso maybe splitting the Mclarens.
NFL
2 Years Ago and you would have not caught me even mentioning the American sport, but after being drawn to watching it I have fallen for NFL. I bought Madden NFL 11
and have immensely enjoyed all modes of the game, being drafted into the Minnesota Vikings in the Be a SuperStar mode (similar to Fifa's be a pro mode) and taking the same team to the Superbowl in the franchise mode. And if you know anything about the sport, you know that there was a big fear that there was going to be a delay to the start of the season because of a 'Lockout'. For those people who do not follow any American sport, this word spreads dread around the American sporting nation, as the teams and the players fight over who gets the money the sport generates. I think an idea like this would be fantastic in the Premier League and European football, but its taken this long for UEFA to get round to fair spending laws that something like this would take years longer to implement. However, the lockout has been fixed with an agreement made, 53% to teams, 47% to players, and training is due to begin today, after a week of draft picks and re-signings. I'm sorry to anyone reading this to try and get a summary of all the trades that are going on, but there's no way I can report on the sheer volume of movement. Just before the start of the season I will sum up the biggest signings of the off-season, and my picks to make the Superbowl.
Cricket
I was very happy to be on track with my prediction for the 1st Test match with England recording a comfortable victory after a fantastic last day performance from the England bowlers. However I was disappointed by the Indian batting line-up, and in particular the little master, who failed again to perform on a big stage. His batting was ultra-defensive, even Dravid had a faster scoring rate, and was lucky to last as long as it did. His technique was sloppy and I really don't think hes anywhere near the same player he was. However that wasn't the factor that lead to the loss. To be the top side in the world you have to be strong in all three aspects of the game, batting bowling and fielding. Their batting and bowling definitely lives up to the mark, at least on occasions, but their fielding is woeful. They are lazy, haphazard and even their wicketkeeper is sloppy. Out of the two keeper-batsmen in the match Prior would get the gloves everytime, even if you could argue Dhoni is a better batsmen on average.
At the time of writing this England are 108-6 in their first innings, but apparently the conditions are extremely favourable to bowlers, so I think whoever takes a lead into the second innings will stand a huge chance of winning, but I wouldn't like to guess at a winner. If England can get around 200 or more, they'll fancy themselves to get India out cheaply, with the swing bowlers they have at their disposal.
Football
Man City have caught the transfer headlines once again with the ridiculous money capture of Aguero, but were also in the headlines for the wrong reasons with a previous signing, Balotelli. Balotelli should have been fined for that shoddy show of disregard for the friendly, Mancini was right to pull him off when he did, players should treat every game 100% and his lack of respect for the club and manager came through then. Personally, I'd sell him, his temper is unacceptable for a Premier League player. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14270989.stm
Aguero, however, could be a great capture, even if the price they paid was a bit over the odds. His skill and pace could make him a real handful in the premiership, and its exactly the player city need if Tevez is on his way.
Check next week for a roundup of whose moved and who looks to be on their way in the last month of the transfer window.
Formula One
After Hamilton's storming victory in Germany last week McLaren seem to be moving in the right direction after the first day of Practice in Hungary, with Hamilton topping the time sheet in both sessions. In a reversal of fortune, both Red Bull drivers seem to be struggling after their rivals sudden improvement on the technical side of things, languishing in around 5th place in the second practice. I'm backing Lewis Hamilton to take his second in a row, and a chance for Jenson Button to go high as well, with Alonso maybe splitting the Mclarens.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
A weekend to remember for British sport
One week on from Darren Clarke winning the Open at his 20th attempt, we have had a weekend of British sporting success to celebrate, across a multitude of sports as well
Formula One
If you took up my recommendation of sitting down to watch the formula one this weekend, you watched one of the best races this year. Firstly, it was one of the few races that people were fighting for second, behind the imperious race leader Sebastien Vettel. Secondly, this was the first race that I felt that any one of the three major teams (McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull) could have won the race. Mark Webber had grabbed pole, and only 5 hundredths of a second behind him was Lewis Hamilton, who had already proved me wrong when I said that Mclaren were not going to challenge this weekend. Lewis then lead after the first corner when Webber had an awful start, but more surprisingly was the form of Vettel, who slipped to as low as 9th during his home grand prix. Massa, Alonso, Webber and Hamilton all lead at points during this Grand Prix, but it was the latter who sealed his second win of the season in Germany. Showing superb maturity and a stunning overtake on Alonso at the second corner, he thoroughly deserved this and hopefully it is a sign of what's to come from McLaren. Vettel needs to show he can win a race when hes not leading to truly cement his place as the fastest man in racing, whilst Webber needs to learn how to convert a pole position into a win, as that was his 5th pole in a row where he's failed to take maximum points.
For those fans of F1 who want to get a bit more hands on, I'd recommend pre-ordering F1 2011 , is the F1 2010 game is anything to go by, its going to be amazing.
Cycling
And today also marked the end of the Tour de France, but I was correct in only one of my predictions. Cadel Evans became the first Australian to win the Tour de France with a great overall ride. However Cavendish came home in style to become the first Briton to win the Green Jersey, winning the final stage in a sprint finish. Cavendish also moved up to 6th in the all time list of stage wins, with 20 wins to his name. If he can keep this impressive form up for next year he should be considered as one of Team GBs biggest hopes for a medal in the 2012 Olympics.
Athletics/Swimming
More medal hope talk here, with the darling of the last Olympics Rebbecca Adlington finishing runner up in the 400m freestyle at the Swimming World Championship. I hope the media don't put too much pressure on former champions such as Adlington, which they have been known to do in the past. As the Olympics are four years apart, competitors can come and go in the joining years, and its hard to stay at the top of your chosen sport for that long, especially on such an individual level.
On future prospects, our women's 4x400m won gold at the Junior World Athletics Championships, which always bodes well. Tom Daley finished 5th in the solo 10m diving, behind one of the most impressive displays I have ever seen coming from China's Qui Bo, scoring perfect 10s for two of his dives. Check it out on BBC Sport website.
Cricket
In the 2,000th test match at Lords, India and England are set for a final day showdown, with India 80-1 chasing a record 458 to win after Matt Prior scored a great unbeaten century to cement his position as one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen of the game today . Is the stage set for the little master to win the match for India? Or will England's quest for test domination begin tomorrow? If England's bowlers can remove the two batsmen currently occupying the crease early tomorrow, I can't see an India win. However Dravid is notoriously difficult to remove, so if he stays in, we could be set for a tight finish.
Boxing
Former Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan floored his opponent Judah in five rounds, making him one of the best pound for pound fighters around. His next target is reportedly Mayweather, who could prove a trickier opponent than Judah, whose talk was far bigger than his game. Could Amir Khan be moving into the limelight as Haye ponders retirement? It would be great for the sport in Britain if there's a Briton at the top of the game, as I don't think enough people are taking up some of the less mainstream sports as they used to, with most kids being drawn to the huge sport of football, which as a Tennis coach I see happening all too often.
Formula One
If you took up my recommendation of sitting down to watch the formula one this weekend, you watched one of the best races this year. Firstly, it was one of the few races that people were fighting for second, behind the imperious race leader Sebastien Vettel. Secondly, this was the first race that I felt that any one of the three major teams (McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull) could have won the race. Mark Webber had grabbed pole, and only 5 hundredths of a second behind him was Lewis Hamilton, who had already proved me wrong when I said that Mclaren were not going to challenge this weekend. Lewis then lead after the first corner when Webber had an awful start, but more surprisingly was the form of Vettel, who slipped to as low as 9th during his home grand prix. Massa, Alonso, Webber and Hamilton all lead at points during this Grand Prix, but it was the latter who sealed his second win of the season in Germany. Showing superb maturity and a stunning overtake on Alonso at the second corner, he thoroughly deserved this and hopefully it is a sign of what's to come from McLaren. Vettel needs to show he can win a race when hes not leading to truly cement his place as the fastest man in racing, whilst Webber needs to learn how to convert a pole position into a win, as that was his 5th pole in a row where he's failed to take maximum points.
For those fans of F1 who want to get a bit more hands on, I'd recommend pre-ordering F1 2011 , is the F1 2010 game is anything to go by, its going to be amazing.
Cycling
And today also marked the end of the Tour de France, but I was correct in only one of my predictions. Cadel Evans became the first Australian to win the Tour de France with a great overall ride. However Cavendish came home in style to become the first Briton to win the Green Jersey, winning the final stage in a sprint finish. Cavendish also moved up to 6th in the all time list of stage wins, with 20 wins to his name. If he can keep this impressive form up for next year he should be considered as one of Team GBs biggest hopes for a medal in the 2012 Olympics.
Athletics/Swimming
More medal hope talk here, with the darling of the last Olympics Rebbecca Adlington finishing runner up in the 400m freestyle at the Swimming World Championship. I hope the media don't put too much pressure on former champions such as Adlington, which they have been known to do in the past. As the Olympics are four years apart, competitors can come and go in the joining years, and its hard to stay at the top of your chosen sport for that long, especially on such an individual level.
On future prospects, our women's 4x400m won gold at the Junior World Athletics Championships, which always bodes well. Tom Daley finished 5th in the solo 10m diving, behind one of the most impressive displays I have ever seen coming from China's Qui Bo, scoring perfect 10s for two of his dives. Check it out on BBC Sport website.
Cricket
In the 2,000th test match at Lords, India and England are set for a final day showdown, with India 80-1 chasing a record 458 to win after Matt Prior scored a great unbeaten century to cement his position as one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen of the game today . Is the stage set for the little master to win the match for India? Or will England's quest for test domination begin tomorrow? If England's bowlers can remove the two batsmen currently occupying the crease early tomorrow, I can't see an India win. However Dravid is notoriously difficult to remove, so if he stays in, we could be set for a tight finish.
Boxing
Former Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan floored his opponent Judah in five rounds, making him one of the best pound for pound fighters around. His next target is reportedly Mayweather, who could prove a trickier opponent than Judah, whose talk was far bigger than his game. Could Amir Khan be moving into the limelight as Haye ponders retirement? It would be great for the sport in Britain if there's a Briton at the top of the game, as I don't think enough people are taking up some of the less mainstream sports as they used to, with most kids being drawn to the huge sport of football, which as a Tennis coach I see happening all too often.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)