5 ms·

> With that in mind, how could you possibly arrange a soccer league, arranged by performance level, in which women were able to compete in meaningful numbers?

> With that in mind, how could you possibly arrange a soccer league, arranged by performance level, in which women were able to compete in meaningful numbers? I don't really understand your question. We can have as many levels to our leagues as we want. As many women can play as they want. Maybe all the women will be in lower tier leagues, maybe some will be in the higher tiers. Why's that a problem? They're still getting to play the sport with opponents around their level. Isn't that the point of playing a sport? Playing a game with people who can challenge you. You can still play at the highest tier your ability will support. We can televise a lower tier if we want to. You can still support and follow a lower tier. What's missing from this model in your mind?

jpxw 6y ago
This is like saying we should abolish under 15s sports leagues and just mix them in with the adults.
- throwaway23838 6y ago
  Well... why not? If I'm a terrible player at the moment who can I play against? If I could play against the 14-year-olds I might be able to get a game. Why not let everyone play according to their ability, not matter what their age or 'gender' or whatever other discriminations we can think of?
  - wolco 6y ago
    The dangers in some sports when people are at different levels is great. Football, hockey even baseball can result in death.
  - silly-silly 6y ago
    This obviously can't work for any kind of contact sport. This can barely work for even non contact sports.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Udik 6y ago
> We can have as many levels to our leagues as we want. As many women can play as they want. Maybe all the women will be in lower tier leagues, maybe some will be in the higher tiers. Why's that a problem? They're still getting to play the sport with opponents around their level. The issue is if that you do so, practically all the women would be playing in a league nobody cares about. They would be dramatically under-represented at the top of their game. Separating people by sex allows to have world class performers of both sexes.
ccffpphh 6y ago
You are just going to go back to the same issue where the only top performers are men, and then there will be outcry as to how it's not fair.
marcusverus 6y ago
> I don't really understand your question. We can have as many levels to our leagues as we want. As many women can play as they want. Maybe all the women will be in lower tier leagues, maybe some will be in the higher tiers. Why's that a problem? They're still getting to play the sport with opponents around their level. My point is that if you add more leagues, you're just adding more spots for men to fill up. You're not doing women a favor by replacing a program of three men's teams and three women's teams with 8 unisex teams. You might just end up with 8 men's teams. > Isn't that the point of playing a sport? Playing a game with people who can challenge you. You can still play at the highest tier your ability will support. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the standard practice for high-school and college sports is that only one team, the 'Varsity' team, goes to the playoffs. One team per school. The B team doesn't get to compete beyond a short, standard season against other local B teams. There is certainly no playoff for the E,F,G team where women will end up. The Varsity team gets to compete to be the best. Everyone else is playing for fun. Under the current system, the best women in a sport are on the Varsity team. They compete in playoffs. Women get to be the champion of their district/region/state/country at tennis, at soccer, at the 150 yard dash. They get to compete in stadiums full of fans, they get to stand up on the pedestal and receive their medals and trophies. It sounds like you want to introduce a world where women don't get to play real competitive sports. Where no women are on the 'real' team, in the big games under the lights. A world where no women are champions.

jpxw 6y ago

This is like saying we should abolish under 15s sports leagues and just mix them in with the adults.

throwaway23838 6y ago
Well... why not? If I'm a terrible player at the moment who can I play against? If I could play against the 14-year-olds I might be able to get a game. Why not let everyone play according to their ability, not matter what their age or 'gender' or whatever other discriminations we can think of?
- wolco 6y ago
  The dangers in some sports when people are at different levels is great. Football, hockey even baseball can result in death.
- silly-silly 6y ago
  This obviously can't work for any kind of contact sport. This can barely work for even non contact sports.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Udik 6y ago

> We can have as many levels to our leagues as we want. As many women can play as they want. Maybe all the women will be in lower tier leagues, maybe some will be in the higher tiers. Why's that a problem? They're still getting to play the sport with opponents around their level. The issue is if that you do so, practically all the women would be playing in a league nobody cares about. They would be dramatically under-represented at the top of their game. Separating people by sex allows to have world class performers of both sexes.

ccffpphh 6y ago

You are just going to go back to the same issue where the only top performers are men, and then there will be outcry as to how it's not fair.

marcusverus 6y ago

> I don't really understand your question. We can have as many levels to our leagues as we want. As many women can play as they want. Maybe all the women will be in lower tier leagues, maybe some will be in the higher tiers. Why's that a problem? They're still getting to play the sport with opponents around their level. My point is that if you add more leagues, you're just adding more spots for men to fill up. You're not doing women a favor by replacing a program of three men's teams and three women's teams with 8 unisex teams. You might just end up with 8 men's teams. > Isn't that the point of playing a sport? Playing a game with people who can challenge you. You can still play at the highest tier your ability will support. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the standard practice for high-school and college sports is that only one team, the 'Varsity' team, goes to the playoffs. One team per school. The B team doesn't get to compete beyond a short, standard season against other local B teams. There is certainly no playoff for the E,F,G team where women will end up. The Varsity team gets to compete to be the best. Everyone else is playing for fun. Under the current system, the best women in a sport are on the Varsity team. They compete in playoffs. Women get to be the champion of their district/region/state/country at tennis, at soccer, at the 150 yard dash. They get to compete in stadiums full of fans, they get to stand up on the pedestal and receive their medals and trophies. It sounds like you want to introduce a world where women don't get to play real competitive sports. Where no women are on the 'real' team, in the big games under the lights. A world where no women are champions.