Not about the records

After reading Dana Kelley’s piece titled “Inequality Act,” I was struck by his narrow thinking on the topic of athletic programs and gender, specifically as it applies to high school student-athletes. Kelley claimed the Equality Act would actually be an inequality act because the physical differences between boys and girls would make athletic competitions unfair to females. The primary evidence he reported was a list of each gender’s fastest, strongest, farthest, longest, best-est world record, which he offered as definitive proof of male physical superiority. Through this vaguely masked playground tease of “boys are better than girls,” Kelley made the benevolently chauvinistic claim that male-bodied athletes should not compete with females, who, according to his own record-keeping, are clearly the weaker sex.

However, the evidence Kelley offered is irrelevant, as records only matter to elite athletes who compete at the highest level. These adults are not the children at the neighborhood school who just want to practice their knuckleball or shoot hoops at the free throw line (both, by the way, athletic skills any body type can do). As a public school teacher, I daily see the positive effects that sports have on teens: teamwork, respect for rules and fair play, health and exercise, keeping up grades for eligibility, and winning and losing with grace and dignity—all of which are beneficial to every student. I also find these benefits suited for transgender students who, by boldly exploring gender boundaries, might need a coach, a teammate, a healthy practice, a way to belong.

High school sports are not about record-making, and they are not about us, the audience, who demand greater entertainment through childhood athleticism. High school sports are about raising healthy, connected youth. So if a kid, any kid, wants to play sports, and heck, even dream of breaking a record, I say, “Play ball!”

KIMBER BARBER-FENDLEY

North Little Rock