By Megan Wood and Laura Pappano

Justine Siegal, founder of BaseBall for All, made news this week when she became the first woman to throw batting practice to a major league baseball team at spring training. She threw for the Cleveland Indians on Monday and the Oakland A’s on Wednesday. Siegal, who became the first woman to coach a men’s professional baseball team, the Brockton Rox, in 2009 (see FGN Q&A with Siegal here), wanted to throw at spring training to increase acceptance for girls playing baseball. FGN spoke with Siegal from spring training in Arizona as she headed to watch a Giants vs. Diamonbacks game at Scottsdale Stadium.

FGN: Was it suprising to people that you could throw batting practice for major league teams?

JS: I think it was, based on their reactions. And yet, I wondered, ‘How can you feel like it should be so difficult?’ I mean it is 45 feet [from the mound to the plate]. To some degree, it is not such a big deal. You are just supposed to throw firm strikes. This is not a power issue or a situation where you need to be 6’2. But female athletes have always had to deal with that stigma — that they are weaker [and therefore not able to do 'male' sport activities]. That said, I was treated with much respect and treated as a professional.

FGN: You are a 36-year-old woman who has played baseball. Who usually throws batting practice?

JS: Batting practice is thrown by coaches who are often and usually between the ages of 35 and 60 — the age is not a factor. And it is not a power issue. When you throw batting practice you can’t flinch when they hit back. There is a lot of bravado when you throw. You don’t look to see how far they hit. And remember, it is about throwing strikes — it is not about the pitcher; it is about the hitter.

FGN: One of your goals was to increase the awareness of and acceptance for girls playing baseball. What reaction have you received?

JS: Actually, I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails. I’ve gotten a lot of fan mail and words of encouragement — from men! Some of them have said, ‘You are living my dream. My daughter plays…’ This is not just a story for girls and women. We underestimate men and how they understand what’s going on and the power of the dream [of playing baseball], of going for something.

FGN: You have done a lot to raise the profile of baseball as a sport for girls. Are girls who play still pressured to switch to softball?

JS: There is definitely the pressure to switch. That is without a doubt. I am sure there will always be tension between softball and baseball, but I don’t care. This is about creating equal opportunities [to play either sport].

FGN: You grew up as a Cleveland Indians fan. What was it like walking into the clubhouse and putting on that uniform?

JS: When I walked in and I saw my Indians jersey hanging for me and it was number 15 — the number I asked for  (her daughter’s birthday is Feb.15) — it was so magical. You get tinglies all over your body!

FGN: Would you like to throw batting practice again?

JS: I would love to keep throwing this!

By Lindsay Rico

Why did I decide to play tackle football in the 6^th grade? Ever see the movie “Little Giants”? It’s about a ragtag football team with a coach who is just as much of a reject as his players. The one girl (they call her “Icebox”) is one of the best on the team. The team (of course) wins the championship against the very team these  players had been rejected from at the beginning of the season.

Movies are movies for a reason. They aren’t realistic—you don’t say, “Hey, I could do that. I could make that happen.” But that’s exactly what I did.

After convincing my dad to sign me up, I realized that football isn’t actually as glamorous as the movies make it seem. To sum our practices and training up in one phrase: Football is running. Everywhere I went—I ran. If it was a break, the team would run to the water. If we were being punished, we ran up and down a hill at the end of the field for what seemed like an eternity. If we actually did something impressive, we still ran, but it was a shorter distance.

Then again, football is also hitting. My coach would always say if the play has nothing to do with you—if it’s going the opposite way as you or if you fudge your assignment in some way—put a “hurt” on someone. Hit someone. Anyone. It’s the least you can do to help your team. We did tons of drills that involved tackling someone and getting tackled at different angles and in various situations.

So I guess football is running and hitting.

There was one particular moment, however, that I value the most out of all the crazy events that occurred during my two seasons playing for the Indians. It was a moment when I compiled the most important lessons my coach had taught and used them to my advantage: I was playing cornerback on a particular play and the ball was being run on the other side of the field. I was jogging over to see if I could help out at the breakdown when I saw him. A lineman was charging at me from the opposite direction. I knew what he was going to do: he was trying to get the angle on me so that he could lay me out.

My coaches had warned us that this might happen. “Keep your head on a swivel!” they barked at us. Football is not a sport immune to cheap shots. Like many sports, if the ref doesn’t see—then it’s perfectly legal. But one of my coaches made an extra effort to warn me in particular and at that instant I realized why. Many of my teammates were nearby with heads turned, jogging slowly to where the play was occurring, completely oblivious. Yet yet this player had chosen to target me. I had made a great effort during the season to be like any other male player on the team but this kid who got a peek at my ponytail decided that this girl who had the audacity to play against him needed her clock cleaned.

As he came nearer, one thought occurred to me: Maybe I should just let this kid hit me. I mean, that is what a lot of young women are taught right? That boys don’t know any better and that there are some things that they will never understand. That we should let boys be boys—men be men? I was convinced that the only thing that kept this boy from “being a boy” was me. I was also aware of how great of a hit it would be and how hard I would hit the ground and how long it would take me to recover from his cheap shot. I would have to be sacrificed for the sake of his pride and the running standard that girls should not play football.

But then I heard coach’s voice in my head yelling “Thattaway, Rico. You kept your head on a swivel and he sees you but he doesn’t see you seeing him. So why don’t you knock this kid into next week?” And I did. I moved at the very last second  and checked him right in the chest. He went down right on his back. Hard. It was there, too, on the reel the next week as we reviewed the game’s film.

On or off the field, there is always someone looking to knock you down.  Football gave me tools I didn’t have before. Remember: Keep your head on a swivel.

I had the thrilling opportunity to watch the World Cup Final at the Soweto Fan Park in South Africa on Monday. Yes, the vuvuzela howls are deafening, but I still cheered alongside 10,000 South Africans as Spain kicked in the winning goal against the Netherlands (my friend Robin from San Fransisco was rooting for the Netherlands — see photo).

It is not that I – or my South African hosts – are huge Spanish soccer fans. In fact, most of the South Africans I spoke with had little knowledge of the individual teams, but agreed that World Cup fever had swept their country. Everywhere you look, soccer images line the streets. From soda cans to billboards, you cannot escape FIFA’s domination.

Certainly, the World Cup has brought together a divided nation and given the rest of the globe a fresh lens through which to view what I am finding to be an inspiring country.

But one thing has struck me: This lens – and FIFA in particular — has filtered out and excluded (sometimes ridiculously so) the female athletic experience. This was an opportunity for all athletes to celebrate this sport. But we only saw half the picture.

Nowhere in the city do you see ads with little girls playing soccer and nowhere do you hear the voice of a female commentator. Does FIFA mean to suggest that the World Cup only inspires little boys? Are the sports networks telling us no women are qualified to provide commentary or reportage?

And in what would be a natural plug for it’s next major event, FIFA was stunningly silent about the fact that next year’s Women’s World Cup is in Germany. Disturbingly, the only fact my South African and American peers could recall about the Women’s World Cup when I asked them was “that one time that women took her shirt off.”

Do we need a woman in a sports bra – Brandi Chastain – to bring attention to women’s soccer? Without engaging yet another debate on sexy athletes, let’s instead pose the fair question: Is the World Cup truly a celebration of the beautiful game – or just the celebration of men who play it?

Rachael roots for Spain while her friend Robin (obviously) pulls for Netherlands

World Cup crowds on Monday night

Nasrin Arbabzadeh

By Sarah Odell and Lindsay Rico

Nasrin Arbabzadeh, the leader of the Afghan women’s sports delegation, has been actively working for years for the rights of Afghan women to complete in sports. In 2001, she traveled from city to city recruiting women to compete in the the Third Muslim Women Games. At the time, she told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that she wore a burqa so as not to draw attention to her work. “My life would have been in danger if the Taliban had learned of my activities and my purpose,” she said.

During the opening ceremonies of those games, organizers staged a black out and many athletes wore black mourning clothing and carried candles as a sign of support for the 48 Afghan delegates. Their participation was a symbol of political resistance. “I’m competing here to denounce the Taliban’s uncivilized treatment of women in the name of Islam,” Salma Hosseini, tae kwan do silver medalist, announced at the time.

Last week, at the Fifth World Conference on Women & Sport in Sydney, Ababzadeh stood in a question and answer period, and sought insight into how to develop, support, and train female athletes in Afghanistan. “Does anybody know about the women in Afghanistan?” she asked. The hall was silent.

FGN spoke with Arbabzadeh about her work and the challenges for female athletes in her native country.

FGN: In Afghanistan, what kinds of sports do women compete in?

NA: They play football (Soccer), badminton, basketball, taekwondo, and volleyball. But it’s very hard for them. At first, their families are not happy and they make it difficult for the girls to play. But when these girls bring home medals and awards, then their parents are happy for them.

FGN: What are some of the challenges these girls and women experience?

NA: The difficulties don’t end with the family. Most of our athletes don’t have the right clothes, shoes, or food. And athletes who have become successful are often threatened. Sixty percent of people are happy with them, forty percent are not. People think they are bad girls because they have chosen to participate in athletics.

FGN:What is your role in women’s sports in Afganistan. Who has been important to your work?

NA: I am the first woman to start sports for girls in Afghanistan. I am so happy with Faezah Hashemi, the Iranian president of the Islamic Federation of Women Sport. She has helped lots of young women within the federation, regardless of what country they come from.

FGN: How did you first get girls involved in athletics?

NA: In 2001 I collected young girls who wanted to play sports brought them to the Muslim women games in Iran. The girls competed in volleyball, tae kwan doe, shooting, tennis, running, chess, and badminton. I paid for everything so my teams could go to this competition. The girls and their families were so happy, because in Afghanistan, there are no teams that allow women. But leaders in Afghanistan  did not like what I was doing and I received threats, so [after the games] I went back to Iran.

FGN: Who was behind the threats? Why were you threatened?

NA: The Olympic manager.  He did not have a lot of experience. He saw that I had experience and knowledge. I saw many things I wanted to change. I saw the disabled athletes had terrible equipment. I wanted to help them. I asked him why they did not have better equipment and he did not like that. He told my husband that if I had any more things to say about the Olympic management or problems, he would kill me.

Arbabzadeh now lives abroad, in Australia, and serves on the Women with Special Needs Committee for the Islamic Federation of Women Sport.

FGN's Rico & Odell talk with Arbabzadeh

News of Judge Sylvia Pressler’s death last week – at 75 at a family home in Sparta, NJ – drew a few paragraphs in the newspaper, but hardly attracted huge attention.

And yet, as spring training gets underway and kids prepare for Little League tryouts (now a winter affair), we should remember Pressler’s contribution — and not just her 1973 finding allowing Maria Pepe of the Hoboken Democrats to play Little League — but the way she framed the issue.

Pressler made clear the connection between sports – in this case, Little League Baseball – and political equality. “The institution of Little League is as American as the hot dog and apple pie,” she wrote in her findings. “There’s no reason that part of Americana should be withheld from girls.”

When the National Organization for Women filed a grievance on behalf of Pepe with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the debate focused chiefly on concerns that girls would get hurt if they played baseball with boys – a notion that if you look at the size of many 9 and 10-year-old girls compared with boys, appears downright silly (note the size of the girl vs. the boys in the Times story photo below, published after Pressler’s findings and amid widespread debate).

In researching Playing with the Boys, N.O.W granted me access to their papers, including details of the 1973 proceedings and Pressler’s findings. During six days of testimony in the case, Little League officials tried every argument they could muster to bar girls from the game. One of the most amusing points came from Dr. Creighton J. Hale, physiologist and Little League VP, who argued that “the possibility of cosmetic injury is more ‘socially damaging’ for a girl than it is for a boy.” Another LL representative, Dr. Thomas Johnson, a San Diego psychiatrist, argued that forced integration of the sexes was bad for children’s mental development. “Boys like to be with boys and girls like to be with girls,” he said.

Give Pressler credit at a time when it was not easy to stand up to male tradition for insisting that integration of the sexes (and, yes, even in the male sport of baseball) mattered. “I have no doubt that there are many reputable psychologists who would agree with the ‘birds of a feather’ theory,” Pressler wrote. “But the extension of that is that whites like to be with whites, blacks like to be with blacks and Jews likes to be with Jews; and that whole theory is a contradiction to the laws of this state and this country.”

Further, she said, “the sooner little boys begin to realize that little girls are equal and that there will be many opportunities for a boy to be bested by a girl, the closer they will be to better mental health.”

Her ruling created an uproar. But it stood.

Imagine if someone who lacked her clarity of vision had decided the case? When I learned of her passing, I had one thought: Thank you, Sylvia Pressler.

The New York Times, April 2, 1974

By Emilie Liebhoff

I recently took my three-year-old daughter ice-skating for the first time.  I skated a few laps, did some quick crossovers, and pivoted back and forth.  She was amazed.  (I’m sure she thought, “What did you do with my mom?”)  Then, with knees bent and arms out, she tried. “Look Mommy, I’m doing it.  I’m doing it!”  It was heartwarming: She wanted to be like me.

This is an exciting Olympic year for me.  It’s the first time my daughter is old enough to really watch Olympic women’s ice hockey with me.  She’s seen men’s football.  She’s seen men’s golf.  And, she’s seen men’s baseball.  Now I get to show her my sport, and the strong, skilled, athletic women who play it.

Here are three reasons why I’m watching with my daughter:

1)    Encourage her to be a sports fan.  Not only do I want to show her that women play ice hockey, but I also want to encourage her to watch sports and to excited about the women playing them.  Men and boys follow sports — but not enough girls and women do. Watching the Olympics is Step One to develop the fan in our daughters.

2)    Show her female sports role models.  Growing up it was tough for me to be a sports fan: Sure, Wayne Gretzy was an amazing hockey player, but he was a guy.  That’s not the case now for our girls. There are incredible female athletes who our daughters can aspire to be like, and who can be positive influences in their lives. (This US team has 15-first-timers plus veteran Jenny Potter — mom! — and superstar Angela Ruggiero, the first female non-goalie to play men’s pro hockey).

3)    Teach her the game. When you are an educated observer, your daughter will notice!  She’ll appreciate and admire your ability to watch the game, root for your team, and know what’s going on. This also is a chance for you to help your daughter build her own sports knowledge.

I did play hockey in college, but that experience isn’t required to watch — and enjoy! — the games with your daughters. Here’s help:

– First, when watching don’t say, “Wow isn’t she pretty?”  Instead, use this opportunity to emphasize the skill and strength of the players.  “Look, Jane, isn’t it impressive the way she stickhandles the hockey puck?” Or, “See how fast she can skate!” Remind them of the finesse and skill required to keep possession of the puck, particularly because checking isn’t allowed, but body contact is.  Point out, that women can use their bodies to protect the puck.

– Show your daughter that you understand the sport. Mention some of the rules. One key rule is offsides: The easiest way to explain it is to always let the puck win a race between the player and the puck.  If the puck crosses the blue line into the offensive end, the puck must cross the line before the offensive player.  If the puck gets sent out of that end and crosses back over the blue line, then all offensive players must follow the puck out of the offensive end.  The puck always needs to win the race.   For more rules and information, click here.

– Make it a point to interact while watching the game.  Have your daughters notice, for example, that when there are only four players on one side of the ice it means that team must have a penalty.  Conversely, the other team must have a “power play.”  This is a good chance for the power play team to score because they have an extra player.  Sometimes, you will notice an exciting moment when a team will “pull the goalie” to put an extra offensive player on the ice.  This usually happens if a team is trying to tie up the game and there is a minute remaining.

– And, importantly, show your daughters that when women score, they celebrate.  (Girls sometimes feel they are being conceited if they celebrate).  Expressing happiness after a goal is OK and encouraged!

– Also point out that ice hockey is not about the individual, but is a team sport. Highlight the fact that there are five players on the ice and that they all pass the puck to each other to work toward scoring a goal.  They also work together to defend and protect their own goalie.

The Olympic games occur over an exciting two weeks.  Use the games as a chance to not only bond with your daughter, but to ignite her interest in becoming a sports fan.   You may be developing the next generation of female athletes. See  Olympic women’s ice hockey schedule here.

Emilie Liebhoff teaching her eldest daughter to skate

Emilie Liebhoff is former co-captain of the Dartmouth College women’s ice hockey team, mother of two daughters, founder of Moms as Mentors™ and the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools.

Documentary filmmaker Jenny Mackenzie’s film Kick Like a Girl conveys the empoweringand enlightening experience when a soccer team of 8 and 9-year-old girls plays in the boys division — quite successfully. After Mackenzie’s visit to Wellesley College last week, I spoke with three student athletes about why gender equity in sports is so crucial at a young age and how their own experiences shaped their views of sport and life. I spoke with senior Katie Martore (soccer and basketball), senior Loretta White (lax and soccer), and sophomore Olivia Hulme (swimming and diving).

FGN: Have you every played with or against boys in sports? What was it like?

KM: Yes—when I was little I played in a co-ed soccer league. I remember the boys on other teams would make fun of me because I was basically the only girl who wanted to play with the boys. They didn’t think I was a good soccer player because I was a girl, but I finally gained some respect when I tackled a boy and told him to never touch me again. When I was little, it seemed that once the boys realized I was a good player they stopped bothering me and treated me like all of their other teammates. It was less about being a girl and more about my skills and talent. Once I shattered the notion that girls are bad at sports, the boys respected my athletic ability.

LW: When I was in elementary school I was one of three girls who played in the local Little League. The boys were a little skeptical at first, but as soon as I showed them that I could turn a double play and hit line drives over the outfielders’ heads they viewed me as just another ball player rather than the token girl.

OH: The only time that I ever played with/against boys in sports was in indoor soccer in middle school. I think that it wasa great experience because the team dynamic and attitude was very different with a co-ed team than just an all girls team. I feel as though we were more competitive and aggressive in playing and the boys did not necessarily go any easier on the girls. When we would play games, everyone who was playing was an equal and we just enjoyed the game. It was a better experience because we played with and against the boys.

FGN: Do you think girls grow up believing that they can’t play certain sports — or play certain sports with boys — even when they are in grade school?

KM: Yes definitely—girls are not expected (or allowed really) to play football, baseball or any other sport with the boys. If you are a girl you join the girls’ league, plain and simple. When I was in grade school, I always wanted to play kickball but I realized that only the boys were supposed to play kickball and so I was stuck deciding everyday whether or not to play with the girls (doing boring stuff) or jump in with the boys (worrying about what my classmates would think of me). There wasn’t much room for a girl like me who liked playing sports and wanted to do everything the boys and the girls did.

FGN: We’ve been treated to hearing about girls who can play with boys — not just the Mighty Cheetahs, but last week bowler Kelly Kulick winning the men’s Pro Bowler’s Association major tournament. What meaning do stories like this hold for you?

Katie Martore

LW: Hearing such stories is inspiring from both an athletic and gender dynamic standpoint. It gives me hope that we’re moving into an era where a woman will be recognized for being a tremendous athlete, as opposed to a tremendous female athlete.

OH: For me, stories like this simply reinforce my awareness that the ideas that women can’t do what men can or be as good as men at something are simply not true. I think that women have fallen into the trap/mindset that they have a predetermined path, one which doesn’t involve challenging the social norms or trying to do something that they have never done before, and stories like this heighten awareness that this is simply not the case. All women have the chance and opportunity to play in a men’s league, or even just challenge themselves by competing with a man for a job (something which many women think will never turn out in their favor).

FGN: What advice would you have for parents of girls around playing sports?

KM: It’s so important for parents to encourage girls to play sports at a young age—in the boys’ or the girls’ league. Sports teach bigger life lessons at an earlier age that they might not get elsewhere. Young kids can get real life experience in playing with boys and building their confidence and self-esteem that will help them tremendously as they become young women. Even if a girl wants to play football, parents should support and push their daughters to follow their passion. Parents shouldn’t limit a child’s interests even if they do go against what society views as appropriate for girls and boys.

Olivia Hulme

LW: Sports provide unparalleled learning experiences and instill a sense of pride and confidence, all of which I think is beneficial for any child. I can say without doubt or reservation, that I would not be the self-assured individual that I am today if I had not been allowed to pursue my passion for athletics.

OH: I would advise parents to not push their daughters to play/try out only “girly” sports but rather let them pursue whatever they are most interested in, whether that be ballet or football. The experience that children can gain from being in a diverse environment, such as with boys, is something that will help throughout their entire lives. I think that parents should be open-minded to the possibility of their daughter becoming involved in a ‘non-traditional’ competition or team, because in the long run, that will help them immensely.

FGN: Do you see athletics as having any political value for women seeking equality?

LW: I think that women must continue to work on ensuring that there are equal opportunities for girls and women in sports, but I also think that athletics can be a platform for promoting equality in society as a whole. The legendary Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs legitimatized women’s athletic abilities, in addition to showing that woman can compete and succeed in a “man’s world.”

OH: I absolutely think that athletics is a powerful venue for women seeking equality. The ability to demonstrate equality in the sports arena can easily translate over to many other aspects of life, allowing women a strong platform on which to stand when they are challenged by men, or even other women, who do not agree with whatever political statement they are trying to make regarding equality for women in all aspects of life.

By Katie Culver

Here’s a Super Bowl quiz question: Would you send your daughter to a football game in her underwear?

I wouldn’t. And yet, funny thing is, there’s women at every NFL football game in a close approximation of panties and bras. They just happen to be on the sidelines cheering — so does that mean it’s okay?

As a mom (and a football fan) who is raising children to believe they can be in the game, or at least relate to it, I’m disturbed by the skimpy cheerleader dress (or undress):

• They are the most visible representation of women at the game. They are on the sidelines; they are cheering for an all-male team in the patriarchal sport of football.
• Girls watching the game gravitate to the cheerleaders (most teams also have a “junior” cheer squad to capitalize) and the message they get is that their involvement in this multi-billion dollar, socially pervasive sport is limited to cheering on the sidelines, wearing inappropriate clothing. The subtext: Don’t bother competing because only your body is worth the attention.
• Those at home get up-close views of these women before and after every commercial break, which reinforces women’s “place” at the game (never mind that the commercials we’ve just seen typically feature disturbing images of women behaving in stereotypically, demeaning ways).

The question about cheerleader dress in public might spur a comparison to the beach. Sure, people wear revealing attire to swim and it’s no big deal. The difference is that men and women alike are dressed to swim.

Then there’s quasi-feminist argument claiming that women who have beautiful bodies should be able to proudly display them. The problem? In a setting in which the men are not only fully-clothed, but extra clothed (with more undergarments than anyone else present) women are objectified, and the presence of cheerleaders—displaying this much of their bodies— just reinforces hegemonic notions of women’s status in society.

Why should my daughter think the only “place” for her on a football field is on the sidelines, nearly naked?

I am willing to budge: When TV cameras show fully-clothed female coaches, assistants, or trainers – I’ll reconsider. Until then, I’ll push for cover-ups for cheerleaders. In some cold weather venues, I bet they’ll snatch them right up.

1. Ignoring athletic development of girls. What’s wrong: Sports is the language of power and self-efficacy (a particularly urgent matter in places where females face violence and lack equal rights). Failure to encourage girls – whether in Texas or Bangladesh or on the preschool play lot – to learn the skills and rules join physical play puts them at a social, economic, and political disadvantage. What to do: Lace up (sneakers on little girls) and speak up for women’s access to athletics everywhere.
2. The financial devaluation of females in sport. What’s wrong: Whether it’s LPGA purses, coach salaries, promotional budgets, or college ticket prices, paying less just because it’s women (guys, I’m sick of the supply-and-demand arguments; it IS more loaded than that) is fundamentally wrong and detrimental to women. What to do: Women, open your wallets and get in the game; supporting talented female athletes is a political act!
3. Single-sex sports – especially in grade school. What’s wrong: Sorting athletes, particularly as children, by gender before skill or competitive level sends a message to little girls that somehow they shouldn’t – or can’t – play with the boys and enforces gender stereotypes, even outside of sports. What to do: Support co-ed athletic opportunities at all levels; if sports has the power to build international relations, why not gender relations?
4. “Lady”-name-the mascot. What’s wrong: Until we’re ready to put the label “gentlemen” before college mascots (say the Tennessee Gentlemen Volunteers, the Gentlemen Blue Devils?) modifying only the women’s team nicknames creates, enforces, and publicizes a second class status. What to do: Call both teams by the same mascot name and bet most fans will know the difference.
5. The pink-if-fication of sport equipment and wear – for females. What’s wrong: Nothing against the sprightly color pink, but the marketing belief that color-coding athletic goods in pink makes them “safe” and “appealing” to females is an affront to our sportiness (do we do this for boys?) and marks the vast non-pink sports universe as male. What to do: Push past the pink; spend your green on the real stuff.
6. Hot pants for playing. What’s wrong: Uniforms that are more about sex appeal than athletic zeal (and free movement) mark women’s sports as entertainment of the wrong sort. What to do: No one says you have to wear granny rags to work out or play, but respect yourself as an athlete. Who wants to slide into third wearing hot pants (and whose idea are shorts in softball anyhow?)?

1. A legitimately equal opportunity to develop athletic skills and play sports — from the start.

This means: girls should be handed a ball (instead of a doll or toy purse) as soon as they can hold something. They should be dressed appropriately so they can run, climb, jump as much as boys do. Girls should be taken to watch sporting events and have pictures of female athlete role models hanging on their walls. And girls should have as many options as boys to play sports as early as possible in their lives.

2.     Equal air time on major networks and ESPN for MY sporting events, such as prime time for Women’s college basketball and (can I add LESS time and money spent on #*&$@&^$ football?)

3. Hot male commentators at every televised game (and yes, we should wonder if they really know anything about the game as they interview coaches). They should also be dressed interestingly enough that we viewers can comment on their clothes and hair.

4.   Commercials that offend men during football games (is it possible?!) Men in speedos (and heels?) serving drinks to women in a bar or women picking up men with ridiculous lines using  actual film clips taken from top female coaches’ press conferences.

5.     A major stadium built primarily for women’s sports (with luxury boxes featuring top women-owned companies, actually clean bathrooms, and that sell jerseys of female athletes in XXL).

6. The cover of ESPN devoted to top female athletes (wearing clothes).

And while you’re at it, Santa, please bring all of those poor NFL cheerleaders some football-weather appropriate outerwear.