Throwing women's sport under the bus

I believe headers will eventually be banned in football. The game will function perfectly well without them. We're trained that they won't hurt if you do them properly but that's simply not true and many women at the lower levels avoid them, despite the coach's encouragement.
When you head a really hard ball from a goal kick or a corner, you experience a moment or two blinking out - like the computer is resetting. I've retired from the more competitive side, but I'll only head softer balls e.g. rebounds or throw-ins and I won't do it in training any more. My brain has done enough.

As I understand it, Serena Williams would be defeated by a non-seeded male player quite easily.

On the first day a new guy with low fitness, musculature and no experience started, I paired up with him, as he was vastly outpowered by the men and a fair bit shorter at five foot one.

He'd just done two hours of cardio and flexibility work and was knackered, whereas I was fresh as a daisy.

The first hit he landed cracked my shin, the second left me looking like Rocky.

The men, most of whom were lighter than me, had held back all the time. But this eight stone guy with arms and legs like pipe cleaners hurt me despite all my muscle, fitness and experience. Because he didn't hold back.

That's why it's dangerous. You cannot rely on somebody to hold back.

Speaking of concussion. I just read this article on American Football.

Zac Easter: He left his brain behind to save others from his fate www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/56894868

In Love, Zac Forgrave details how his post mortem diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative condition linked to repeated blows to the head and/or concussion.

This bit is important too.

CTE tends to develop over several years, with symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease, and can so far only be detected after death.

This young man started to experience it at 11 years old!!

Now combine this with the Swansea Uni study on female’s brain injury in rugby and I really cannot believe RFU can ignore the dangers to women and girls.

I know American football is a different code of football to rugby but the brain damage this child suffered could well be similar (if not the same) to the concussive damage and degenerative diseases suffered as a result to rugby union (and league) and to headers in football.

The point is knowing the risks to males, and the increased risk for females, why would ANY person advocate for increasing that risk for females.

is it just not wanting to believe the science?

Is it like bike helmets? You don’t believe you need one, until you do?

Is there a degree of ‘it was ok for me that one, two, x, times I played against a male, so if that one time another female suffers a significant tackle/collision that is just par for the course’ right? They knew that Rugby is a collision sport?

Or are those agreeing enjoying the benefits of having the male on their team and are not actually in danger at all? But downplay the risk to the women on the other side?

I’ve had a concussion once (not football related) and I didn’t realise until the next day either. It’s awful.

The worst concussions I've seen from women's football - including one that was life changing - didn't manifest until at least a day after. One of the players was convinced she was fine to continue playing, which is common.

And this from same research

'Our findings add to research showing that female athletes are at increased concussion risk compared to male athletes, and highlight the importance of sex-specific research in this field.'

According to the NHS, signs of a concussion usually appear within a few minutes or hours of a head injury, but occasionally they may not be obvious for a few days.

Worryingly, if undiagnosed, concussion can cause life-long problems for youngsters.

This is really interesting.

"Intriguingly, whereas the most common cause of concussions in male athletes was contact with another player, in female athletes the most common mechanism was contact with an object, such as a ball."

It is a widespread belief that you can't get seriously hurt from being hit in the head/face by the ball. You're taught to just shake it off and carry on.

Another important distinction between the sexes.
www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/27/teenage-girls-face-almost-double-the-concussion-risk-of-boys-playing-football?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Quite... I used to throw the javelin and do long jump for my school. I wasn’t half bad!

DS could match my bests with ease even when he was much younger.

Just saw this on Twitter
USATF records for 8 and under. Male advantage appears to be present way before puberty.

this could be interesting.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4229890-Lesbian-Visibility-Week-Inclusion-in-Sport-panel-event-at-3-30pm-today-Powered-by-DIVA-Stonewall

I was reading an article today about Caster Semenya who took up running because they got kicked out of the girls' football team for being 'too rough'.

On another thread, someone posted the vast gulf between teenage boys' lung capacity compared to adult women.

Male bodies and female bodies are different. Identity doesn't change that.

Exactly, that's the point.

Like you, my DH used to play rugby (although he still does turn out occasionally for the veteran's team when they play).

He's also played in a couple of mixed sex games and, exactly as you say, it was just a bit of fun and the men held back from going full in.

However, willit seemed to be implying that she was playing in full on competitive games which I really don't believe at all.

I wonder if she is just naive and not aware that most male rugby players are going to hold back to a certain extent in that sort of situation or is she deliberately trying to obfuscate things?

It is like history is being rewritten, isn't it?

Well, it's partially true. 2004 is when males were first permitted. But sex change surgery was a requirement until 2015. And a top-level athlete is unlikely to take that sort of risk on a serious permanent procedure. And how easily or fast can you get back into training after doing that to your body? That really was filtering it to extremely serious old-school transsexuals.

The post-2015 situation is totally different - the only requirement is hormone suppression. Having low testosterone for a while is not that daunting a prospect. Few (or any?) permanent effects. (No actual oestrogen is required...)

The photo taken of Fallon Fox the boxer punching the lights out of a woman competition made me feel physically repulsed. That wasn’t a sport photo I saw right there , woman abuser came to mind. It’s sickening to believe that women are expected to endure this. In fact why of earth would any female boxer agree to a fight with someone who is essentially (and I make NO apology here) a Man? I feel nothing but anger when I see a transwoman on the podium. Go and compete against men why don’t you? Or form your own leagues, and strike out your OWN ground in securing your rights. But don’t dare stamp all over women and everything they have achieved thus far.

CuriousaboutSamphire

It is like history is being rewritten, isn't it?

This is laughable. My 16y old son plays rugby at school and broke a smaller boy's collar bone last week playing rugby for fun. There is a female PE teacher at his school who is an extremely fit, early thirties ex-England Rugby player and he towers over her and would annihilate her in a tackle. And we're not talking about flabby, overweight dads playing a bit of weekend Rugby - we're talking about putting highly fit, highly trained men who have been selected for their particular size and strength into games with women - I know very recent ex-England women players and, as amazing as they are, they would be destroyed by these men, playing at full strength and not holding back.

This will end in a death of a female player if it goes ahead.

🐂 in fact.

Hang on though!!! Don’t you know they have been able to compete since 2004! We get told this every thread. We were told it last night. Yeah! I keep seeing that. But really, no! At lower levels of competition some men have managed to compete in male cmpetition oe seasone and the mens the season after (a cyclist - not that one - springs to mind). Because of testosterone and social statement rules.

Others have had to work at reducing testosterone levels and maintain health, go through selections and stages of competitions in order to qualify for championships.

But the olympic decision was not taken on 2004. And no trans athlete has had time to be selected and compete because of covid!

It's all obfuscation and out and out lies!

A lot of the girls on my team can tackle the guys harder than any other guy could

Bull. Shit.

Here's hoping I am not.