Running off at the typewriter. \u2026<\/p>\n
I was reminded recently that we don\u2019t just watch men\u2019s and women\u2019s sports differently; we judge them differently.<\/p>\n
And not always in the way people think.<\/p>\n
More than two decades ago, when I first got to Orlando<\/a>, the city still had a WNBA team called the Orlando Miracle. I covered one of their losses during a disappointing season in 2001. There were a zillion turnovers, defensive breakdowns, blown opportunities; the kind of performance that, in most men\u2019s sports cities, would have triggered boos raining down from the rafters.<\/p>\n But that didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n Instead, as the Miracle left the court, the fans stood and applauded.<\/p>\n Not polite clapping. A full-on standing ovation.<\/p>\n No catcalls. No \u201cfire the coach.\u201d No angry sports talk radio fodder waiting to explode the next morning. Just appreciation.<\/p>\n \u201cBoo our own team?\u201d one fan asked incredulously. \u201cWhy would we want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, I wrote about how strange \u2014 and frankly refreshing \u2014 it was. These fans weren\u2019t cynical. They weren\u2019t entitled. They weren\u2019t treating the team like a product that failed to meet expectations. They were loyal, supportive, almost \u2026 protective.<\/p>\n But over the years, I\u2019ve started to wonder:<\/p>\n Is that really a compliment?<\/p>\n Or is it a different kind of double standard?<\/p>\n In men\u2019s sports, fandom comes with much more of an edge. If you play poorly, you hear about it. Loudly. Fans boo because they care. They demand excellence because they expect it. It\u2019s harsh, yes, and sometimes unfair, but it\u2019s rooted in the idea that these athletes are competing at the highest level and should be held accountable.<\/p>\n In women\u2019s sports, the tone is often different. More respectful. More supportive. Less critical.<\/p>\n Again, that sounds like a good thing.<\/p>\n Until you realize it can also come with lower expectations.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t boo, because maybe \u2014 subconsciously \u2014 we\u2019re not demanding the same level of performance.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t criticize as harshly, because maybe we\u2019re still treating women\u2019s sports as something to be nurtured rather than fully scrutinized.<\/p>\n And that brings me to the legendary UConn women\u2019s basketball coach Geno Auriemma.<\/p>\n When UConn was upset by South Carolina<\/a> in the Final Four, Auriemma had a heated postgame exchange with Dawn Staley. It wasn\u2019t a great look. He admitted that himself \u2014 twice. Two apologies in four days, saying he \u201clost himself\u201d and that \u201cwomen\u2019s basketball deserved better.\u201d<\/p>\n Fair enough.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the question: If that exact same moment happened in a men\u2019s Final Four game, how would we react?<\/p>\n Would we demand multiple apologies? Would we frame it as a stain on the sport? Would we call the coach a bully or a tyrant?<\/p>\n Or would we just shrug and say: \u201cThose guys are COMPETITORS!\u201d<\/p>\n Because we\u2019ve seen it before. Men\u2019s coaches yelling, jawing, getting in each other\u2019s faces. And the reaction is usually some version of admiration: passion, fire, will to win.<\/p>\n In the women\u2019s game, the same behavior is deemed unacceptable.<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n Do we expect women\u2019s sports to be more civil? More respectful? More composed?<\/p>\n And if so, isn\u2019t that its own form of inequality?<\/p>\n We say we want women\u2019s sports to be taken as seriously as men\u2019s sports. But seriousness comes with scrutiny, criticism, uncomfortable moments and emotional outbursts.<\/p>\n And, yes \u2014 Miracle of miracles \u2014 it even comes with boos. \u2026<\/p>\n SHORT STUFF: Did you see where mad scientist Bryson DeChambeau is once again going outside the box at this year\u2019s Masters by playing with a 5-iron that he fabricated himself with a 3D printer? If something goes wrong, DeChambeau won\u2019t consult his swing coach; he\u2019ll call IT support. \u2026 Great point from Sentinel colleague Scott Maxwell, who noted earlier this week<\/a> that the NFL is not backing down amid Florida attorney general James Uthmeier\u2019s threats to challenge the Rooney Rule \u2014 the NFL\u2019s longstanding effort to ensure minority candidates get interviewed for head-coaching jobs. Uthmeier \u2014 a former campaign manager for Ron DeSantis whom the governor promoted and appointed as the state\u2019s attorney general \u2014 is threatening legal action against the league. Maxwell rightfully points out that Uthmeier got his job via political connections, but he now is somehow worried about other hirings that might not be based on \u201cmerit.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n