Robin and I were briefly tuned to a Mets game on Sunday when we heard broadcaster Keith Hernandez, one of my all-time favorite players, apologize for having said something inappropriate the previous day. From context we not only got that the apology seemed contractually obligated, but what it was about - he had questioned the appearance of a "girl" (by which I'm assuming he meant "woman") in a dugout during a game. At the time I looked everywhere online for a news item about it, to no avail. Well, as you can see, there are plenty of items now, and it's worse than I'd initially suspected. "I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout," followed by "You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there — always have"? Aside from the point that, considering the persistent rumors of Hernandez' closeted homosexuality, he probably shouldn't push that astoundingly patronizing "always have" bit, did it not occur to him that attitudes like this are the reason Kelly Calabrese is the only woman on any MLB trainer team (and there are only two on minor-league teams). And when MLB even pays lip service of women they're solely in the role of consumers, not truly active participants in the game.
According to the just-out 2005 Racial and Gender Report Card (PDF), women are fairly well involved in Major League Baseball on the executive level, but seriously, don't even think about women as players any time soon (I was so sure, when I was younger, that this would happen during my lifetime!); in fact, the same report card gives MLB an A grade or better in categories including players, coaches and managers! Hint: if there are no women in those positions, that score should be a C- at best, folks. To be fair, most categories that are broken out by race and gender give gender equity grades of C or worse. And of course there are still no women umpires in the majors, and as of last year women broadcasters amounted to a whopping 2%. Too busy hiring rumored-closeted-gays, I guess.
Update: Once again, the Onion brings the giggles.
According to the just-out 2005 Racial and Gender Report Card (PDF), women are fairly well involved in Major League Baseball on the executive level, but seriously, don't even think about women as players any time soon (I was so sure, when I was younger, that this would happen during my lifetime!); in fact, the same report card gives MLB an A grade or better in categories including players, coaches and managers! Hint: if there are no women in those positions, that score should be a C- at best, folks. To be fair, most categories that are broken out by race and gender give gender equity grades of C or worse. And of course there are still no women umpires in the majors, and as of last year women broadcasters amounted to a whopping 2%. Too busy hiring rumored-closeted-gays, I guess.
Update: Once again, the Onion brings the giggles.
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