Women's netball holding the line

[truthisarevolutionaryact]

Interesting article in The Times about a men's netball team with a typically patronising / misogynistic approach to women's sport. No interest in setting up a men's league or playing mixed sex teams. Instead a creepy interest in 'helping out ' the women's game apparently by their mere presence in the sport .

Their leader boasts that he doesn't really see the boundaries that sometimes other people would see . No doubt the same lack of boundaries currently being evidenced in every male run sporting organisation in the UK.

There's a fab quote from the Head of the International Federation - she “makes no apologies for refusing to promote the men’s game because it is great to have something that the women are in charge of"

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/men-are-you-tough-enough-for-netball-fw823zqvc?shareToken=e97dfd1fb502c0cc2aafa87968a7339c

For those who can't click links, Keelings comments are a text book example of male privilege;

''Keeling insists that he does not want to steal any of the women’s limelight or money. “It’s very important that we come across as humble,” he says.''

''He explains how he believes a men’s team can help the women’s game: “I thought, ‘What could I do to help the sport as a whole, to help our idols, who play for those women’s teams, to get paid more, to attract bigger attention?’ Well, I thought we could start a men’s team. It would have much more impact, I thought, than a mixed team.”''

Although the article was a bit all over the place he really came over as creepily oppressive. It reads as if his end game is to play as part of the women's teams at elite level? So yet another man determined to eradicate women's sport.

Its like he read the Onion article about putting a man in charge of the struggling feminist movement and dint realise it was satire.

Sadly for his ego, women's netball told him to effectively piss off.

Blimey, that's unbelievably patronising.

They'd start a men's netball league/association if they were really interested in playing netball. They're clearly not.

While I'm here, and on a related topic, can I draw the attention of (particularly older) women on here to walking netball? I participate in sessions on this at my local leisure centre and it's fantastic fun, much more 'aerobic' than I had anticipated (I turned up to my first session, saw that I was the youngest there at 61 and - because I'm physically very fit - thought "This'll be a piece of piss". I was very, very sweaty and very, very tired at the end!).

It's a great way to get back into playing a team sport without pressure, without feeling you've got to be 'good' at it - everyone is really supportive and there to have fun - and a fantastic way to get some exercise with other people.

Thanks Vicky. I'd heard of walking football but not netball - will look into it.

Keeping is a 6'7" man who doesn't see the boundaries others see. I wonder why that could possibly be?

I'm always amazed at men who openly admit to not respecting boundaries - they either have no clue what that represents - or it's a very clear statement of intent!