RSS
The men’s World Cup soccer tournament is the biggest thing in the world of sports, with a purse of \$450 million being split among the 32 national teams competing in Qatar this year.
In contrast, the women’s World Cup isn’t. It’s purse is about an order of magnitude smaller: \$30 million for 24 teams in 2019.
But it’s not FAIR that the rest of the world cares vastly more about men’s soccer than about women’s soccer. Somebody must pay.
Namely, American national men’s team players:
U.S. Soccer and Top Players Agree to Guarantee Equal Pay
Landmark labor agreements with members of the men’s and women’s national teams will include higher paychecks and shared World Cup prize money.
By Andrew Das
May 18, 2022… That reality arrived Wednesday in landmark contracts with the U.S. Soccer Federation that will guarantee, for the first time, that soccer players representing the United States men’s and women’s national teams will receive the same pay when competing in international matches and competitions.
In addition to equal rates of pay for individual matches, the deals include a provision, believed to be the first of its kind, through which the teams will pool the unequal prize money payments U.S. Soccer receives from FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, for their participation in the quadrennial World Cup. Starting with the 2022 men’s tournament and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, that money will be shared equally among the members of both teams.
“No other country has ever done this,” U.S. Soccer’s president, Cindy Cone, said of the deal to equalize World Cup payments. “I think everyone should be really proud of what we’ve accomplished here. It really, truly, is historic.”
But, then, what does the rest of the world know about soccer compared to us Americans?
The agreements were reached just over six years after a group of stars from the World Cup-winning U.S. women’s national team began a campaign to overcome what they said was years of wage discrimination by U.S. Soccer against its female players. The players argued that they had been paid less than their male counterparts for decades even as they won world championships and Olympic gold medals.
Playing against girls.
It’s not a really complex insight, but the fact that the US women’s team win the women’s World Cup all the time while US men’s team never comes close to winning the real World Cup is, obviously, proof that women’s soccer is not of much interest outside the US and, say, Norway.
The fight over per diems and paychecks eventually morphed into a federal lawsuit in which the women accused U.S. Soccer of “institutionalized gender discrimination.” While the women lost in federal court in 2020, when a judge ruled against their core claims, they eventually won their equal pay victory at the negotiating table, with a final assist from the men’s team.
It was the men’s team’s players, in fact, who opened a pathway to a deal late last year when they privately agreed to share some of the millions of dollars in World Cup bonus money that they have traditionally received by pooling it with the smaller payments the women receive from their own championship.
That split could see the two teams pool, and share, \$20 million or more as soon as next year. That will be in addition to match payments that are expected to average \$450,000 a year — and double that, or more, in years when World Cup bonus money is added.
For the women’s team’s players, Wednesday’s agreements were as much a relief as a triumph. Becky Sauerbrunn, one of the five players who signed the original complaint in 2016, admitted, “It’s hard to get so, so excited about something we should have had all along.”
Through the years, as the sides battled in courtrooms and negotiating sessions, the dispute produced sometimes caustic — and personal — disagreements about personal privacy, workplace equality and basic fairness, and drew support (and second-guessing) from a disparate chorus of presidential candidates, star athletes and Hollywood celebrities — not all of them supportive of the women’s campaign for pay equity.
The difference in compensation for men and women has been one of the most contentious issues in soccer in recent years, particularly after the American women won consecutive World Cup championships, in 2015 and 2019, and the men failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament. Over the years, the women’s team, which includes some of the world’s most recognizable athletes
Well, to be precise, “most recognizable” among those who care about women’s soccer …
, had escalated and amplified its fight in court filings, news media interviews and on the sport’s grandest stages.
… The split of prize money, then, is a notable concession by the American men, who have previously been awarded the bulk of those multimillion-dollar payments by U.S. Soccer, and a potential seven-figure windfall for the women. The 24 teams at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, for example, competed for a prize pool of \$30 million; the 32 men’s teams that will compete in Qatar in November will split \$450 million.
“When we got together as a group, certainly we saw that there was not going to be a way forward without the equalization of prize money,” said Walker Zimmerman, a defender on the men’s team and a member of his union’s leadership group. He said the process of persuading the rest of his teammates to share the money involved “difficult conversations, a lot of listening, a lot of learning.”
“Difficult conversations” sound like great psychological training for taking on England in Qatar.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish
Vietnamese
>>“Difficult conversations” sound like great psychological training for taking on England Qatar.<<
Sounds great to me, mate! 😀
“We need to have a conversation”, as most men know, is a dreadful phrase to hear from a wife, girlfriend, or female boss.
It means anything but a conversation; it means the woman is going to lecture you, tell you to be quiet, and tell you what to do.
P.S What does this mean for the WNBA?
What is the business model for dropping games with a million viewers for games with 5,000 viewers?
What does this mean for the WNBA? A million braves fans now hate the WNBA. Went from "don't care," to "hate 'em/get them off my screen."
Yup, you'll be subjected to a womoan.
And these are GOOD things, you MAN OF UNZ.
I'd guess nothing at all. The NBA is largely composed of Black guys who spend all they have and then some and aren't going to give up any of their money. Men's Soccer on the other hand is largely composed of nice White boys who can be guilted/bullied into just about anything , especially if there is some moral preening involved.Replies: @Rooster15
1) Nobody cares about Communist Kickball around here.
2) This is not a Feral Gov’t thing, for a change, so I appreciate that. However, I don’t read much about the evil of Title IX here, such as when the ex-men athletes were being discussed. At least the taxpayers are not involved in this one.
Those men players are getting a hard and fast shot of equity… and they can’t use their arms.
"I don't care about soccer, to hell with them."
"I don't care about bird watching..."
"I don't care about crochet..."
"I don't care about photography..."
"I don't care about what liberal arts majors think or do..."
"I don't care about who goofball voters in California or New York vote for..."
"I don't care about people who major in journalism..."
And finally: "I don't care about the crappy public schools, I home school!"
And the next thing you know, you wake up and everything around you is woke.Replies: @Achmed E. Newman
In the past, kickball was mostly considered a child's game in the United States, although recently many US cities have created kickball leagues only for adults. Some US cities have multiple organized leagues for adults over 21 years of age. It gained prominence in the 1970s.[10]
But as all good things must come to an end, perhaps with the ever growing popularity of Kickball in the US, Sabermetrics and Moneyball tactics won't be too far behind. (e.g. how many kick appearances, does the four fouls rule lessen a kicker's true kicking ability, and thus cause the need for a pinch kicker to sub in later innings, or during bases loaded situation?)I mean, you know it's coming. The Bill James of Kickball won't be far behind.
It's like during the scene at the end of The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), and the kids from both countries were just playing together on the sandlots, away from pressurized commercialization.It's coming. Commercialization of Kickball is coming. Take it to the bank. But at that, it's still probably better watching than something like Women's Soccer.Replies: @Steve Sailer, @Achmed E. Newman
And what did those players "learn" in those conversations?
" Sign zee paper! Ve haff vays to make you cooperate! Sign zee paper!"
Like maybe you wouldn't be on the next team if you dont,well,play ball?
Stinks to high heaven. Pure bullshit.
The only good thing from the last Olympics,aside from that gymnast quitting😉was the execrable "womens" team getting their ass kicked. It was awesome.😂
I hate these nasty,self centered,domestic violence doing bitches.
I only hope this is not the end of this crap!
Football finances is a funny thing, but there are a few ground rules that help to explain all this.
1. The US women’s football team is one of the best in the world, the US team is a long way short of that.
2. In Europe women’s football is entirely subsidised at the top level by big men’s clubs which see having a good women’s team as something worth chucking money at. It gets TV coverage but not many TV viewers and few actual spectators.
3. International football for men has never been a money earner. Pulisic for example, the star US player, is reported to earn \$10m a year on a 6 year contract at Chelsea (where he has started 18 out of 62 games this season and perhaps half a dozen players earn more). The \$20m pool available to all US men and women internationals isn’t going to make much difference to him.
Footballers play internationals either out of pride/ego or because of the sponsorship deals that come their way as a result. The direct pay is trivial and irrelevant.
Frankly, they are boring to watch, just like the WNBA. I will give the Euro club women's teams this though - they do have a few attractive players on the rare occasion I have seen them.Only among women soccer players. No one else cares.
Handball is a big thing, not so much women’s football. But they are nationalist for all their teams.
I’m totally in favour of this and think it should be universal, Sportsball Delenda Est.
Landmark labor agreements with members of the men’s and women’s national teams will include higher paychecks and shared World Cup prize money.
Oh no. The last thing we need is to empower arrogant American dykes.
Rapinoe looks like Tilda Swinton, doesn’t she?
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/48/2a/58/482a58730ff8432dc072ff00c566d4e1.jpg
Well there’s your problem right there.
This assures that no self-respecting male athlete will want to play Men’s Soccer for the US just to give his winnings to a bunch self-righteous lesbians.
US Men’s Soccer just ended.
But maybe not.
If there is hope it lies in the Ex-Men.
It needs reminding that America banned alcohol once, something that not even Stalins USSR or the Third Reich would never have been able to do. The supposed land of the free does things that so called totalitarian regimes could not get away with.
“When we got together as a group, certainly we saw that there was not going to be a way forward without the equalization of prize money…”
I suspect a firm NO would have worked.
Six simple words.
Meeting over.
See Yah.
The problem seems to be: the men have no balls.
Last week, Bally Sports TV didn’t show some Atlanta Braves games, rather showed some WNBA games. Bet that got them some mean tweets.
What is the business model for dropping games with a million viewers for games with 5,000 viewers?
What does this mean for the WNBA? A million braves fans now hate the WNBA. Went from “don’t care,” to “hate ’em/get them off my screen.”
In fairness there are only about 300 people in the US who give the slightest shit about the US Men’s Soccer team. OTOH, every eight-year-old girl plays soccer and loves the women’s team. Their parents do too. Strong, fit, healthy girls working hard, showing good sportsmanship, generally being good role models. And if some of them liked to make out with the other girls in the locker room, we could live with that. Just don’t make a big scene.
Until recently, when the team slowly became a bunch of showboating asswipes (thanks NBA!) and tedious political activists, led by a pink-haired freak with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mount Rushmore. The dads of America don’t like this, and are slowly turning away from it. We’re going to witness a steep decline in the popularity of women’s soccer.
Not likely, given your own words that “OTOH, every eight-year-old girl plays soccer and loves the women’s team”.Replies: @Ron Mexico
Over here the BBC are very excited about it. I was amused to see some breathless coverage of some game and noted the empty stands. Barely any more people watching than on the pitch.
Sounds great to me, mate! :DReplies: @Henry's Cat
Steve needs a poof-reader.
it means the woman is going to lecture you
Yup, you’ll be subjected to a womoan.
Now that there’s meant to be equal money in women’s football, there’s incentive for fifth rate football players to “transition.” And there’s a lot of fifth rate male football players. I think I read that one million Brits have been through the England team youth system.
Is it wrong to suggest that “toxic masculinity” might be defined as an unemployed also-ran being unwilling to earn millions and millions simply by shaving his legs, growing his hair long and agreeing to be referred to with the pronouns she/her, while playing the game he loves, and absolutely dominating?
And, relative to most jobs, he’d even be surrounded by attractive women, who would mostly feel guilty for not sleeping with him.
Women’s football is just going to become “men of little shame and mediocre skill” football.
How much should these kids make?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/3268594/us-women-soccer-dallas-academy-5-2/
Well, I guess I can sleep well knowing that these two teams are paid equally. I am ahead of the curve on this, as I give the same shit about both teams already.
Not just that, they are the runaway champions because the women’s game in the US got so big, they were for a long time about the only ones out there. That’s changed the last few years but it’s still true that in terms of international compeition, there just isn’t much.
There was a weird feminist insistence that the US women shouldn’t have been criticised for their poor sportsmanship after beating Thailand 13-0. But that just revealed that there wasn’t enough competition. They celebrated like they’d just won the whole competition or as if it was an achievement. In the men’s game that wouldn’t have been seen as anything but sad. If you beat somebody 13-0 you weren’t really in anything remotely like a contest.
https://www.today.com/news/us-team-criticized-celebrating-during-women-s-world-cup-win-t156130
And generally this isn’t as big an issue in other countries because the money awarded by their associations for international duty isn’t very much, for some even mid-sized rich countries it’s not even noticeable compared to their salaries for clubs. For the US, it’s huge.
In the men's game, excessive celebration after a 13-0 win would be seen as bad form, unmanly.
There's a God of Abstract Justice, which no woman understands.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_of_the_Species_(poem)
If it were strictly a business decision, the WNBA would have gone bankrupt years ago and all of those tall lesbians would have ended up making \$0 playing basketball… but just like USA Soccer, the men’s side pays protection money and subsidizes the women, so my guess is that the basketball players are going to get another raise soon.
There is no crossover between men and women’s soccer. If the men get paid better why don’t they just share with all national athletes who don’t get paid enough. Give a cut to the men’s national hockey team. And the women’s national hockey team. Give a cut to the men’s and women’s fencing teams, etc. etc. How dare those male soccer players get paid more just because their sport is the most popular sport in the world? Handball players are people too.
Your daily reminder that USWNT lost an exhibition game the the U15 training team of the Dallas franchise of MLS, 5-2. The best grown women in the world versus a regional select team of high school freshmen.
Practical suggestion: Every World Cup, have the US men’s national soccer team play the US women’s team.
Let’s say the score is 3 to 1, men’s team wins. So, there are 3+1=4 total points.
So, the men get 3/4 of the total money and women get 1/4 of the total money.
Of course, if the score is 10 to 0 men vs. women, the men get all the money and the women get none.
Fair is fair, right?
The obviously analogous case would be men’s tennis versus women’s tennis, where much the same sort of argument has gone on for a long time, with tournament prizes finally equalized for the two sexes in most (all? dunno) big tournaments. A couple of notable differences:
–Women’s tennis seems to me to be just about as popular as the men’s game–and sometimes maybe more so? Not sure how the TV ratings generally shake out there, which would be the thing to look at. Once they made the rackets huge, the women’s game I thought was more entertaining than the men’s for a while–until e.g. Serena Williams also got huge and the women became more reliant on power.
–Women’s matches are best of three sets whereas men’s are best of five, so the women’s being paid less made some pretty inarguable sense–even though it I guess turned out to be arguable. Sort of.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.Replies: @c matt, @kaganovitch, @MagyarFociBajnok, @Rouetheday, @Ganderson
Best’womens’ team thrashed by schoolboys
Looking forward to the WNBA demanding the same treatment from the NBA. In fact, I actually sort of hope that happens if it means a bunch of male basketball stars watch their salaries flatline to ensure the women – who play a season less than half as long) get to wet their beaks.
The WNBA is really boring and most everyone know this. I took my daughter to an NBA game in a corporate suite this winter and it was a blast for her. She subsequently got to go to the exact same suite for a WNBA game with her team mates but her reaction was “the players are just not that good so the game isn’t fun.”
Megan Rapinoe intimidates everyone …. she is scary.
Leveling the playing field! Up next, models: Men get equal pay as women (double entendre intended).
“ It means anything but a conversation; it means the woman is going to lecture you, tell you to be quiet, and tell you what to do.”
And these are GOOD things, you MAN OF UNZ.
A women’s sport needs to showcase feminine beauty ,i.e. show some leg……..my proposal for women’s soccer ,bikini tops and short shorts.
This could only be an issue in the US and Canada
In these countries the women’s national team probably generates money which might be in the same ballpark as the men’s team
Nowhere else would this be anywhere the case .
Anyway national teams have the habit of paying all players the same rate per game ( I think ) so maybe it’s not such a big jump ( excluding prizemoney events I should add )
1) Men’s soccer is prosperous enough to turn a profit while subsidizing the ladies. A cost of doing business. The bosses pay a “tax”. The people who watch soccer are happy, including fans of the ladies.
2) Men’s soccer is not prosperous enough etc. Organized soccer in the USA goes out of business.
Neither outcome harms me and mine.
Economic efficiency in the entertainment industry is not my lookout.
Project current trends and in twenty years all the benefits of this will accrue to chicks with dicks and the women with tampons ain’t gonna get jack.
See it all evens out.
--Women's tennis seems to me to be just about as popular as the men's game--and sometimes maybe more so? Not sure how the TV ratings generally shake out there, which would be the thing to look at. Once they made the rackets huge, the women's game I thought was more entertaining than the men's for a while--until e.g. Serena Williams also got huge and the women became more reliant on power.
--Women's matches are best of three sets whereas men's are best of five, so the women's being paid less made some pretty inarguable sense--even though it I guess turned out to be arguable. Sort of.Replies: @Achmed E. Newman, @Henry's Cat, @Paleo Liberal, @Barnard
Oooh, women tennis players could get 3/5 of the prize money due to their playing only 3/5 as much, in close matches at least. Where have I heard that fraction before? Somehow I don’t think the Williams Brothers would like it, not one bit.
The total prize value is substantially higher for the mens cup than for the women’s cup. What is the actual prize value the US mens team receives? They don’t seem to be very successful whereas the women appear to be very successful. If the actual prize won by both teams are comparable then compensation should reflect that.
They could just make it a percentage of the pool money won for each team member for both team. Say for discussion purposes, 2% of total winnings. That would be equitable.
Two words: Topless Soccer
The guys just handed you almost half their paychecks. Fellas, if you expected a thank you, don’t hold your breath.
This overweening sense of entitlement to other people and their stuff--money, schools, country clubs, neighbors, nations--is the core of minoritarianism. The core of our problem.Replies: @LP5
It’s not just that one match either, the women’s national hockey team lost to some high schoolers in an exhibition as did the Australian national women’s soccer team. The U.S. women wouldn’t even think of playing a decent high school boys team in basketball because any state championship caliber team would beat them by at least 20 points. There are a couple of people who seem to be asking what all this means for the WNBA, but I don’t think you’ll see any movement towards “equalizing” pay in basketball. The result of that would be the sudden end of the WNBA. They can’t even sell out their arenas for their championship series (maybe the lower bowl).
The US men some years are fortunate if they even qualify for the World Cup — surviving a brutal gauntlet of preminaries vs. world powers such as Panama and Honduras
This assures that no self-respecting male athlete will want to play Men's Soccer for the US just to give his winnings to a bunch self-righteous lesbians.
US Men's Soccer just ended.
But maybe not.
If there is hope it lies in the Ex-Men.Replies: @Nathan
Agree. The US was never going to get behind soccer, and watching the national team get cucked this hard is going to ensure that young men don’t take up the sport at all.
Lester Holt covered this story on yesterday’s NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt. The expected celebration, as oppressed women reveled in their triumph in this battle of the never-ending war against years of wage discrimination.
Funnily enough, Holt never broached the idea that NYC-based celebrity network TV news anchors should share their earnings with the news anchors of KNOP (North Platte) and KXGN (Glendive). That particular aspect of redistributive economic justice didn’t get any air time. Must’ve been an oversight.
--Women's tennis seems to me to be just about as popular as the men's game--and sometimes maybe more so? Not sure how the TV ratings generally shake out there, which would be the thing to look at. Once they made the rackets huge, the women's game I thought was more entertaining than the men's for a while--until e.g. Serena Williams also got huge and the women became more reliant on power.
--Women's matches are best of three sets whereas men's are best of five, so the women's being paid less made some pretty inarguable sense--even though it I guess turned out to be arguable. Sort of.Replies: @Achmed E. Newman, @Henry's Cat, @Paleo Liberal, @Barnard
I’d argue the women’s game piggybacks on the men’s at the Grand Slam events. A better comparison would be between the ATP and WTA tours in terms of crowds, TV viewing figures, prize money, etc. But I don’t think that information is readily available.
This is the feminist core of it. Entitlement.
This overweening sense of entitlement to other people and their stuff–money, schools, country clubs, neighbors, nations–is the core of minoritarianism. The core of our problem.
We need a few more stories of college or pro teams beaten by the JV high school squad. Always funny.
Soccer playing suckers.
I was arguing with a former women’s college soccer player feminist type about this. Her point, and the rather obnoxious position of the high profile women’s players during this fiasco was that the women’s team is better at soccer than the men’s team, using their championship wins as proof.
So in response I suggested that the men’s team play the women’s team head-to-head with the winner taking all of the pay. The better team should be for this, because not only would they make the same as the men, but being so much better at soccer than the men this arrangement would give them their just due – they could earn all of the money reflecting their obvious superiority.
She scoffed at the idea and refused to engage with it, saying that it was ridiculous somehow in ways she wouldn’t articulate.
That’s when I made the point that the women’s team is better at playing the sport that is women’s soccer, not better at playing soccer.
--Women's tennis seems to me to be just about as popular as the men's game--and sometimes maybe more so? Not sure how the TV ratings generally shake out there, which would be the thing to look at. Once they made the rackets huge, the women's game I thought was more entertaining than the men's for a while--until e.g. Serena Williams also got huge and the women became more reliant on power.
--Women's matches are best of three sets whereas men's are best of five, so the women's being paid less made some pretty inarguable sense--even though it I guess turned out to be arguable. Sort of.Replies: @Achmed E. Newman, @Henry's Cat, @Paleo Liberal, @Barnard
I think in the US the women’s game is actually more popular.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.
Nah, it would make a marginal difference, perhaps a %5 increase in Homeruns and a smaller decrease in Ks.
So why isn’t the US women’s soccer team being flooded with transgenders? If it is this financially lucrative relative to the caliber of soccer players, it should be an incredible magnet for transgender soccer players.
Soccer BALLS indeed.
1. The US women's football team is one of the best in the world, the US team is a long way short of that.
2. In Europe women's football is entirely subsidised at the top level by big men's clubs which see having a good women's team as something worth chucking money at. It gets TV coverage but not many TV viewers and few actual spectators.
3. International football for men has never been a money earner. Pulisic for example, the star US player, is reported to earn $10m a year on a 6 year contract at Chelsea (where he has started 18 out of 62 games this season and perhaps half a dozen players earn more). The $20m pool available to all US men and women internationals isn't going to make much difference to him.
Footballers play internationals either out of pride/ego or because of the sponsorship deals that come their way as a result. The direct pay is trivial and irrelevant.Replies: @Alec Leamas (working from home), @c matt
More proof that post-war Europe is a colony of the U.S. You have society-wide Title IX, without even having had the Title IX law itself. The cultural virus was carried to you via American mass media, and has replicated itself in various and sundry separate “nations,” overcoming hundreds of years of cultural inheritance in the span of a few decades.
It seemed like a good deal--for the Europeans--back in the day. Our our army there as a tripwire, our nuclear umbrella stretched over them Their defense provided for, they were spending 1/2 or less the GDP per capita on defense as the US, making room for a more generous welfare state. We paid taxes to defend them.
But with the rise of minoritarianism the sheer dominance of US--media, culture, government, academia--in the lingua angilca turned into a massive cancerous liability for anyone plugged in.
Seriously, banning English--doing some sort of auto-translation of non-toxic science and engineering--keeping America, American minoritarianism entirely out, would be wise policy if you manage it.Replies: @Peter Akuleyev
I highly doubt that someone like Megan Rapinoe is a very good women’s soccer player. She was fast-tracked for her utility as a ‘woke’ activist.
She would not even get into the women’s team on soccer skill alone.
Hence, this situation is ripe for a transgender takeover. In fact, I think this is the reason women’s soccer is getting its way in terms of pay and media coverage. They are being set up to be a major conduit of transgender normalization. Rapinoe, etc. are just pawns that will be discarded once the transgenders arrive.
Here is a list ESPN put together in 2019, so somewhat out of date, of the world’s 100 most popular athletes. The criteria they are using are web searches, endorsements and social media popularity. Men’s soccer players are heavily represented on the list, there isn’t a women’s soccer player on it, although several women’s tennis players are. It doesn’t look like they have kept up the list since 2019. Maybe some executives were unhappy with the results.
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/26113613/espn-world-fame-100-2019
--Women's tennis seems to me to be just about as popular as the men's game--and sometimes maybe more so? Not sure how the TV ratings generally shake out there, which would be the thing to look at. Once they made the rackets huge, the women's game I thought was more entertaining than the men's for a while--until e.g. Serena Williams also got huge and the women became more reliant on power.
--Women's matches are best of three sets whereas men's are best of five, so the women's being paid less made some pretty inarguable sense--even though it I guess turned out to be arguable. Sort of.Replies: @Achmed E. Newman, @Henry's Cat, @Paleo Liberal, @Barnard
The Grand Slam tennis tournaments have all said, both TV ratings and demand for tickets are much higher for the men’s finals than the women’s finals. This isn’t necessarily true in the U.S. where men’s tennis doesn’t draw much of an audience on TV, but it for the rest of the world.
The WNBA is really boring and most everyone know this. I took my daughter to an NBA game in a corporate suite this winter and it was a blast for her. She subsequently got to go to the exact same suite for a WNBA game with her team mates but her reaction was "the players are just not that good so the game isn't fun."Replies: @Barnard
The NBA can’t do that and they know it. If NBA salaries started going down to subsidize the WNBA even more than the NBA already does, the top players would leave for leagues in other countries or start their own league in the U.S.
Speaking of bullying, LeBron James is upset because “racist trolls” made a few unflattering comments about his son’s prom photo:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10833483/LeBron-James-17-year-old-son-Bronny-faces-racist-abuse-taking-white-girl-high-school-prom.html
Cry me a f**king river, LeBron. You’re one of the luckiest people who’ve ever lived. You won the genetic lottery. You’ve earned a billion dollars playing a stupid little game. You should get down on your knees and thank God you were born in a country that showered you with fame and fortune. Instead you bitch and moan about petty insults.
2) This is not a Feral Gov't thing, for a change, so I appreciate that. However, I don't read much about the evil of Title IX here, such as when the ex-men athletes were being discussed. At least the taxpayers are not involved in this one.
Those men players are getting a hard and fast shot of equity... and they can't use their arms.Replies: @Patrick in SC, @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @Bardon Kaldlan
I get it, but the problem with this is:
“I don’t care about soccer, to hell with them.”
“I don’t care about bird watching…”
“I don’t care about crochet…”
“I don’t care about photography…”
“I don’t care about what liberal arts majors think or do…”
“I don’t care about who goofball voters in California or New York vote for…”
“I don’t care about people who major in journalism…”
And finally: “I don’t care about the crappy public schools, I home school!”
And the next thing you know, you wake up and everything around you is woke.
The question is, if it's something I'm not involved in, what am I to do about it? What are you all going to do? That's not being an asshole, as I don't know what you all could be doing about it, beside what I am, refusing to participate in any of this. That doesn't just mean opting out, like the homeschooling, but telling anyone who pushes this stuff what's what, and resisting it when it IS coming to something we are involved in. Threats are good too. (Money still talks, don't forget.)
Are you all going to write tweets to the editors? Do your parts where you actually CAN make a difference, and don't take any BS
Wasn’t the only woman’s soccer player of any public note (former Olympic team, American) Hope Solo recently arrested for drunk driving?
Passed out in her car with her kids in the back.
Some role model.
Of course a lot of ex jocks, men and women, have drug or alcohol problems.
But the women’s contingent here in soccer is hardly setting any high standards.
Let’s not let any facts get in the way of female bullying for “fairness.” No need to look at which sex is paying for all of this.
As for the WNBA, a lot of former players are arrested, charged with beating up (or killing) their current girlfriends/wives. Those big bad lesbians can be pretty macho.
Apart from idiotic names-strange.... They should be darker.
https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?q=60&c=sc&rect=18%2C79%2C1080%2C610&poi=%5B550%2C235%5D&w=1080&h=540&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2021%2F03%2F06%2Fhope-solo.jpgReplies: @Brutusale
Uncomfortable Truth:
Globally, Men’s football (USA: soccer) games, and the star players, are more popular than Women’s.
Equal pay from unequal revenue streams.
This just in: successful men to subsidize women’s hobbies. Back to the news.
Yep–but a pampered colony.
It seemed like a good deal–for the Europeans–back in the day. Our our army there as a tripwire, our nuclear umbrella stretched over them Their defense provided for, they were spending 1/2 or less the GDP per capita on defense as the US, making room for a more generous welfare state. We paid taxes to defend them.
But with the rise of minoritarianism the sheer dominance of US–media, culture, government, academia–in the lingua angilca turned into a massive cancerous liability for anyone plugged in.
Seriously, banning English–doing some sort of auto-translation of non-toxic science and engineering–keeping America, American minoritarianism entirely out, would be wise policy if you manage it.
Who will be the first Tran to play in women’s soccer? It will be fun to see Trans players playing buff female players. All those hugs and thugs in it for the money. Aren’t all professional sports about money? I played social tennis since a young teenager. Love the Game!! If I had to pay for a ticket based on men and women’s tennis, I would always pick men. Much more excitement! I love aces. I think the men today hold back on their aces and also pace themselves to make sure the crowd gets its money’s worth. Men’s tennis used to be played fast and furious. Quick to the point: Thank you very much! The new, new male players are looking more like the old style players. If you can win in three, do it! Much more exciting. I don’t feel cheated; I feel I have seen a tremendous match. Women’s tennis has always been about “skill” and there is a lot of truth in that because, male or female, tennis is about skill. Women’s tennis looks the same year in and year out—only the names change. Having said that, there is the exception to the rule: Serena and to a minor degree sister Venus. They were in a class of their own. Greatest female tennis players ever but still not capable of playing men’s tennis. Since it was a given for years that Serena would win when she played, it was interesting to see her putty cat tennis. She had to make it look like a match so it was a matter of waiting to see when would make her move! I also enjoyed her aces. I repeat myself but aces are fun and it takes skill!
1. The US women's football team is one of the best in the world, the US team is a long way short of that.
2. In Europe women's football is entirely subsidised at the top level by big men's clubs which see having a good women's team as something worth chucking money at. It gets TV coverage but not many TV viewers and few actual spectators.
3. International football for men has never been a money earner. Pulisic for example, the star US player, is reported to earn $10m a year on a 6 year contract at Chelsea (where he has started 18 out of 62 games this season and perhaps half a dozen players earn more). The $20m pool available to all US men and women internationals isn't going to make much difference to him.
Footballers play internationals either out of pride/ego or because of the sponsorship deals that come their way as a result. The direct pay is trivial and irrelevant.Replies: @Alec Leamas (working from home), @c matt
Disagree with point 1 – the US Women’s team is not one of the best teams in the world. It is one of the best women’s teams, which means they are about equivalent (maybe) to your average AMERICAN boys’ high school team. They couldn’t even touch an average European or South American boys’ high school team.
Frankly, they are boring to watch, just like the WNBA. I will give the Euro club women’s teams this though – they do have a few attractive players on the rare occasion I have seen them.
Only among women soccer players. No one else cares.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.Replies: @c matt, @kaganovitch, @MagyarFociBajnok, @Rouetheday, @Ganderson
No, it’s not, unless it’s your daughter/wife/girlfriend playing. No one I know in my soccer circles (and it’s a pretty large group) ever talks about the women’s game. The MLS may not be that popular, but that’s because it’s a development/retirement league. The best players just don’t play here. Same reason Serbian hockey doesn’t draw the same interest as the NHL.
He meant tennis.
Passed out in her car with her kids in the back.
Some role model.
Of course a lot of ex jocks, men and women, have drug or alcohol problems.
But the women's contingent here in soccer is hardly setting any high standards.
Let's not let any facts get in the way of female bullying for "fairness." No need to look at which sex is paying for all of this.
As for the WNBA, a lot of former players are arrested, charged with beating up (or killing) their current girlfriends/wives. Those big bad lesbians can be pretty macho.Replies: @Bardon Kaldian
I didn’t know who were you talking about. I Googled a bit, and found one thing surprising: that woman, white, has a black husband. They have twins who are, as far as I can see, very white.
Apart from idiotic names-strange…. They should be darker.
Criminal allegations
Violent crime
In spring 1998, Stevens—a high school senior—was charged with felony assault, which led to three weeks in the Thurston County jail after testing positive for marijuana, which violated the terms of his home confinement. "The felony charge appeared to place his [University of Washington football] scholarship in jeopardy—but three UW coaches wrote the judge, saying the UW's offer was still good."[37]
In July 2000, Stevens was arrested and charged with rape. UW athletic director Barbara Hedges told news media that UW would investigate sexual battery charges; but the University did not. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng's office "agreed to give crucial police evidence—the victim and witness statements—to Stevens's lawyers before the interview." This was directly contrary to standard police procedure, and the Seattle Police did not agree to release those statements. Despite DNA evidence, Maleng's office declined to prosecute.[37]
On March 3, 2011, Stevens was arrested and charged with felony battery for punching two bouncers in a Tampa, Florida bar. According to his attorney, who denied the charges, after Stevens was released from jail, he was treated for "multiple broken ribs and extensive bruising to his body and face."[38]
On November 12, 2012, Stevens was arrested on investigation of assault following an altercation that left his fiancée, soccer star Hope Solo, injured, but a Kirkland, Washington judge dropped the case the following day for lack of evidence.[39] The pair were wed November 13, 2012, the day after the arrest.[35]
Traffic violations
On October 19, 2000, Stevens sideswiped Donald Preston's Dodge Daytona on I-5 after "driving like a maniac" and "using the HOV lane as a passing lane." He fled the scene without giving any information to Preston. The State Trooper who tracked him via the license plate on his red truck did not charge him with hit-and-run but instead cited him for "driving too fast for conditions."[37]
On May 4, 2001, Stevens was cited for reckless driving and hit and run after crashing his pickup truck into a retirement home. The crash knocked a dresser onto a bed where a 92-year-old woman was sleeping.[40] Stevens first lied, saying he did not know who was driving his truck; he later pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and causing property damage and was given a suspended 90-day jail sentence, 240 hours of community service, and probation.[37][3][41]
In 2002, after signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Stevens was ticketed for going 98 mph in his new Range Rover. Three months later, he was cited for negligent driving and paid a $490 fine.[37]
On April 3, 2003, Stevens was stopped by Medina, Washington police and was charged with reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving. For violating probation from the May 2001 incident, Stevens served five days in jail effective June 12, 2003 and was ordered to do 40 hours of community service.[41] For the reckless driving charge, Stevens was sentenced to two days in jail, 25 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine on June 23.[42] The sentencing judge compared Stevens to Reggie Rogers, another star University of Washington football player who was convicted of DUI.[42]
On March 13, 2007, eleven days after he became a free agent, Stevens was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona for suspicion of DUI after his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.204, more than twice the legal limit of .08 and considered "extreme DUI" in Arizona. On September 7, a jury found Stevens guilty.[43] Although the crime carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, the judge gave Stevens 12 days, "suspending the other 18 because he was enrolled in the NFL's substance-abuse program, the same program Stevens entered in 2003, after being stopped with two open champagne bottles in his car." The NFL suspended him for one game.[37][44]
On January 19, 2015, Stevens, then 35, was arrested in Manhattan Beach, California for suspicion of DUI.[45] As a result of this incident, Steven's wife Hope Solo was suspended for thirty days from the U.S. Soccer team for showing poor judgement in entering the car and arguing with the police.[46] In May, Stevens was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years' probation for driving a U.S. soccer team van while drunk. The judge also mandated a two-year outpatient alcohol program. Stevens had refused a blood or breathalyzer test; officers had to obtain a search warrant to draw a blood sample; his blood-alcohol concentration was at least 0.15%.[47]
Other issues
On March 16, 2007, The Seattle Times reported that multiple complaints were raised against Stevens by other residents in his condominium complex. The complaints included vomit on their doors, used condoms on the back porch, loud parties at all hours of the night, and various noise complaints.[48]
On October 23, 2010, Stevens was arrested and charged in Tampa with possession of marijuana. Stevens had been pulled over for playing loud music, when the officer smelled marijuana, and discovered 38 grams of it in his car.[30] Stevens was sentenced to probation until October 2013 for the incident but returned to Hillsborough County, Florida jail on November 28, 2012, for violating probation.[49]Replies: @Rob, @Yojimbo/Zatoichi
It’s interesting to think through the ramifications of this.
It probably kills the chances of US men’s soccer ever amounting to anything. Anyone good already plays in a European league, and now if they are good enough to play for say England’s team they have that much less incentive to come home to play for the US in the World Cup.
For women, maybe the opposite? The few foreign world class women players are now incentivized to figure out how to play for the US in the World Cup. Plus all trans women worldwide now are motivated to figure out how to qualify for the US team to get the vastly higher payout.
You see that also with England's and France's men's national team, but that is a little different because most of those are African immigrants who are better than the native French/English, but their African teams have little chance of advancement.
Perhaps now that the Women’s Team is getting a cash infusion, they can afford to play against more high school teams. That might help them improve since clearly other national Women’s Teams aren’t challenging enough.
Reasons for the historical and present global power of the American Empire:
English people taking over from Dutch, Swedes, French, Amerindians…etc. in New World.
The rejection of soccer, the recreation of coastal Europe and its islands in New World, the recreation of continental German continuum in New World with focus on Great Lakes states region, drive to head west, unbelievable supernatural greed hidden by accusations against others for being greedy too, the gall to call Russkies the “Slav Menace” because the Russkies were sniffing for profits in Asia too, electronics, resources, splendid isolation provided by oceans and Canada and Mexico, staying out of wars until time was ripe to pluck the winnings from the rubble, and did I mention the rejection of soccer?
Phuck soccer!
Abby Dahlkemper, the American Kraut female who has played for the US Women’s Soccer Team, is worthy of some interest, though.
Angry, toxic feminists and their fey nu-male fanbois won’t be satisfied until they have ruined everything that normal men enjoy. They seek not to build themselves up, but to bring everyone else down to their miserable level. IMO, the only women’s sports that an appreciable number of women bother watching is (pairs) ice skating and (Olympic) gymnastics. Not even tennis matters, unless there is a player with a dramatic personal storyline.
We are being ruled today by the fat, ugly girls who didn’t get invited to the prom. If they aren’t getting hit on, nobody gets hit on.
"I don't care about soccer, to hell with them."
"I don't care about bird watching..."
"I don't care about crochet..."
"I don't care about photography..."
"I don't care about what liberal arts majors think or do..."
"I don't care about who goofball voters in California or New York vote for..."
"I don't care about people who major in journalism..."
And finally: "I don't care about the crappy public schools, I home school!"
And the next thing you know, you wake up and everything around you is woke.Replies: @Achmed E. Newman
That’s about the size of it, Patrick. I read Mr. Sailer and participate in most of the discussion on this woke stupidity. Nah, I shouldn’t say I don’t care about it, as I know it’s all a bad thing. The humiliation of it is one of the usual precursors to Communism.
The question is, if it’s something I’m not involved in, what am I to do about it? What are you all going to do? That’s not being an asshole, as I don’t know what you all could be doing about it, beside what I am, refusing to participate in any of this. That doesn’t just mean opting out, like the homeschooling, but telling anyone who pushes this stuff what’s what, and resisting it when it IS coming to something we are involved in. Threats are good too. (Money still talks, don’t forget.)
Are you all going to write tweets to the editors? Do your parts where you actually CAN make a difference, and don’t take any BS
Rapinoe is truly contemptible.
Haven’t men always supported women?
Do you really want to see Rapin Hoe topless?
Outside of the Olympics and tennis, women’s sports have a hard time attracting an audience. These soccer players don’t get paid that much. With a World Cup win, they make \$200k, the rest comes from endorsements, up to \$1m for highest paid Alex Morgan, most get much less. At least good male soccer players from the US can go to Europe and make bank:
https://heavy.com/sports/2019/07/usa-women-uswnt-soccer-salary-men-usmnt-world-cup/
Majority of girls who play team sports like soccer/basketball/softball/hockey don’t intend to go pro. They just play it to get into college.
I was listening to this clip on the cnbc website about the future for Netflix and the value of sports programming (top right corner):
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/nflx?qsearchterm=nflx
The guy said that 50% of the cost of sports programming goes to the players, coaches and teams, this is in reference to NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, maybe also men’s soccer. But what about the Olympics? NBC pays the IOC billions to air each Olympics, where does all that money go? Olympic athletes do not get paid like NFL/NBA players etc., or even an annual salary like the women on US national soccer team or softball team. Aren’t these athletes being cheated? It’s incredibly expensive to train an Olympic athlete, especially Winter Olympians, something like \$500k from childhood to 18. At least with all other sports, there’s a big paycheck at the end of the day when they turn pro, but no such fortune awaits Olympic athletes. Instead NBC/IOC try to sell the Olympic dream: to represent your country, national pride, or to be the “best of the best of the best” etc., and then the day after the Olympics, they drop you like a rock so no one remembers you and you can’t attract sponsors. How long can the IOC/USOC/NBC keep this con going before the talent pipeline completely dries up? Why would any parent want to let their kids do Olympic sports anymore.
It probably kills the chances of US men's soccer ever amounting to anything. Anyone good already plays in a European league, and now if they are good enough to play for say England's team they have that much less incentive to come home to play for the US in the World Cup.
For women, maybe the opposite? The few foreign world class women players are now incentivized to figure out how to play for the US in the World Cup. Plus all trans women worldwide now are motivated to figure out how to qualify for the US team to get the vastly higher payout.Replies: @c matt
For the men’s team, that may be true. For the women’s team, it may be the opposite. There are only X number of spots on the US team, and way too many women players, so the incentive for women players will be to play for another country where they have a better shot at making the team/getting playing time and exposure. Personally knew a girl who was Greek-American and did exactly this – went to play for Greece. I would call this the Brazil effect – having such a large surplus of players, they often look for other teams to join (was more common in the past, but Italy’s Emerson comes to mind).
You see that also with England’s and France’s men’s national team, but that is a little different because most of those are African immigrants who are better than the native French/English, but their African teams have little chance of advancement.
2) This is not a Feral Gov't thing, for a change, so I appreciate that. However, I don't read much about the evil of Title IX here, such as when the ex-men athletes were being discussed. At least the taxpayers are not involved in this one.
Those men players are getting a hard and fast shot of equity... and they can't use their arms.Replies: @Patrick in SC, @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @Bardon Kaldlan
“1) Nobody cares about Communist Kickball around here.”
Speak for yourself. Still have fond memories of that match in 3rd grade, when we went to extra innings but managed to squeak out a win, 11-10. Personally, always felt that if one leans more to the left than to the right when setting up to kick the ball, they’d have a better chance of either a double, if not kicking it over the fence.
So don’t mess with Kickball. Nothing commie about it. It’s a great Post-War elementary sport, and about on the same level as Women’s Soccer. *
*Apparently Kickball has a longer history going back to ca.1920’s. Wow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickball
per Wiki article:
Kickball in the United States
In the past, kickball was mostly considered a child’s game in the United States, although recently many US cities have created kickball leagues only for adults. Some US cities have multiple organized leagues for adults over 21 years of age. It gained prominence in the 1970s.[10]
But as all good things must come to an end, perhaps with the ever growing popularity of Kickball in the US, Sabermetrics and Moneyball tactics won’t be too far behind. (e.g. how many kick appearances, does the four fouls rule lessen a kicker’s true kicking ability, and thus cause the need for a pinch kicker to sub in later innings, or during bases loaded situation?)
I mean, you know it’s coming. The Bill James of Kickball won’t be far behind.
It’s like during the scene at the end of The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), and the kids from both countries were just playing together on the sandlots, away from pressurized commercialization.
It’s coming. Commercialization of Kickball is coming. Take it to the bank. But at that, it’s still probably better watching than something like Women’s Soccer.
We used to play kickball in the street every evening until it got dark for big parts of the summer. We'd have to move for cars, is all.
Sorry, I played soccer too, way back, but any game in which you can't use your God-given limbs for what they are for is asinine. I just call it "Commie" because most of us Americans see it as being played only by Latin Americans and then a few Socialist Euroweenies. I've written this before, but I do understand it's a great aerobic game. However, if you want that, play Ultimate Frisbee. The way the disc flies is way, way cooler than what a ball can do.Replies: @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @possumman, @Reg Cæsar
“In the men’s game that wouldn’t have been seen as anything but sad. If you beat somebody 13-0 you weren’t really in anything remotely like a contest.”
In the men’s game, excessive celebration after a 13-0 win would be seen as bad form, unmanly.
There’s a God of Abstract Justice, which no woman understands.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_of_the_Species_(poem)
P.S What does this mean for the WNBA?
I’d guess nothing at all. The NBA is largely composed of Black guys who spend all they have and then some and aren’t going to give up any of their money. Men’s Soccer on the other hand is largely composed of nice White boys who can be guilted/bullied into just about anything , especially if there is some moral preening involved.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.Replies: @c matt, @kaganovitch, @MagyarFociBajnok, @Rouetheday, @Ganderson
Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn.
Nah, it would make a marginal difference, perhaps a %5 increase in Homeruns and a smaller decrease in Ks.
The last two words of this article are “England Qatar”. What is that? “The name of a women’s soccer team? The name of a country, maybe on the Arabian Peninsula? Are its residents subjects of the Queen of England, or of the Emir of Qatar?
I suspect a firm NO would have worked.Replies: @Bill Jones
So we agreed not to go forward.
Six simple words.
Meeting over.
See Yah.
The problem seems to be: the men have no balls.
Wasn’t the qualifying route to the world cup rigged to ease the US into the tournament? Good to see Steve supporting the affirmative action beneficiaries rather than the meritocratically impressive US womens team.
The fact that you could theoretically "rig" the world cup to favor the US is precisely why soccer will never take off here.
It seemed like a good deal--for the Europeans--back in the day. Our our army there as a tripwire, our nuclear umbrella stretched over them Their defense provided for, they were spending 1/2 or less the GDP per capita on defense as the US, making room for a more generous welfare state. We paid taxes to defend them.
But with the rise of minoritarianism the sheer dominance of US--media, culture, government, academia--in the lingua angilca turned into a massive cancerous liability for anyone plugged in.
Seriously, banning English--doing some sort of auto-translation of non-toxic science and engineering--keeping America, American minoritarianism entirely out, would be wise policy if you manage it.Replies: @Peter Akuleyev
But even Russia and China invest significant resources in teaching English. Even North Korea makes sure their elites learn to read English. Unfortunately English has become the global Lingua Franca. If Chinese want to talk to Koreans or Russians to Mexicans or Egyptians to Brazilians – they speak English. The whole world is susceptible to the English language virus.
Until recently, when the team slowly became a bunch of showboating asswipes (thanks NBA!) and tedious political activists, led by a pink-haired freak with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mount Rushmore. The dads of America don't like this, and are slowly turning away from it. We're going to witness a steep decline in the popularity of women's soccer.Replies: @Corvinus, @Lurker
“We’re going to witness a steep decline in the popularity of women’s soccer.“
Not likely, given your own words that “OTOH, every eight-year-old girl plays soccer and loves the women’s team”.
Neither are true, and that is why there won't be a steep decline in popularity, when there wasn't much popularity to begin with.
When this whining broke out several(?) years ago there’s one fact that settled the matter for me. The girls were offered the same deal as the men, that is, they got a “share” the value of which was proportional to how well they did. The girls didn’t want this, they wanted a salary and healthcare and etc; the men opted for it and made a lot more than the girls. The men should have said the hell with you all.
I'd guess nothing at all. The NBA is largely composed of Black guys who spend all they have and then some and aren't going to give up any of their money. Men's Soccer on the other hand is largely composed of nice White boys who can be guilted/bullied into just about anything , especially if there is some moral preening involved.Replies: @Rooster15
The NBA is essentially the sports-branch of the DNC. This means all new woke ideology is relentlessly pushed using its platform. Even though you’re told the players might have a say in it; they really don’t. If it helps advance the agenda, the WNBA will be seeing benefits increase.
In the past, kickball was mostly considered a child's game in the United States, although recently many US cities have created kickball leagues only for adults. Some US cities have multiple organized leagues for adults over 21 years of age. It gained prominence in the 1970s.[10]
But as all good things must come to an end, perhaps with the ever growing popularity of Kickball in the US, Sabermetrics and Moneyball tactics won't be too far behind. (e.g. how many kick appearances, does the four fouls rule lessen a kicker's true kicking ability, and thus cause the need for a pinch kicker to sub in later innings, or during bases loaded situation?)I mean, you know it's coming. The Bill James of Kickball won't be far behind.
It's like during the scene at the end of The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), and the kids from both countries were just playing together on the sandlots, away from pressurized commercialization.It's coming. Commercialization of Kickball is coming. Take it to the bank. But at that, it's still probably better watching than something like Women's Soccer.Replies: @Steve Sailer, @Achmed E. Newman
20-something Congressional staffers play kickball on the National Mall. Indeed, I’d bet that one male staffer, say on the Budget Committee, does Moneyball for Kickball.
https://heavy.com/sports/2019/07/usa-women-uswnt-soccer-salary-men-usmnt-world-cup/Majority of girls who play team sports like soccer/basketball/softball/hockey don't intend to go pro. They just play it to get into college.I was listening to this clip on the cnbc website about the future for Netflix and the value of sports programming (top right corner):
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/nflx?qsearchterm=nflxThe guy said that 50% of the cost of sports programming goes to the players, coaches and teams, this is in reference to NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, maybe also men's soccer. But what about the Olympics? NBC pays the IOC billions to air each Olympics, where does all that money go? Olympic athletes do not get paid like NFL/NBA players etc., or even an annual salary like the women on US national soccer team or softball team. Aren't these athletes being cheated? It's incredibly expensive to train an Olympic athlete, especially Winter Olympians, something like $500k from childhood to 18. At least with all other sports, there's a big paycheck at the end of the day when they turn pro, but no such fortune awaits Olympic athletes. Instead NBC/IOC try to sell the Olympic dream: to represent your country, national pride, or to be the "best of the best of the best" etc., and then the day after the Olympics, they drop you like a rock so no one remembers you and you can't attract sponsors. How long can the IOC/USOC/NBC keep this con going before the talent pipeline completely dries up? Why would any parent want to let their kids do Olympic sports anymore.Replies: @Steve Sailer
The Olympics used to be all amateur. Wimbledon was an amateur tennis tournament until 1968.
Now, the question is: Why does the current US Open retain the history of the US Amateur? Maybe because both were played at Forest Hills, so logistically it became opening up the more prestigious tournament to pros, rather than promoting the current pro tournament to Grand Slam status.
In the past, kickball was mostly considered a child's game in the United States, although recently many US cities have created kickball leagues only for adults. Some US cities have multiple organized leagues for adults over 21 years of age. It gained prominence in the 1970s.[10]
But as all good things must come to an end, perhaps with the ever growing popularity of Kickball in the US, Sabermetrics and Moneyball tactics won't be too far behind. (e.g. how many kick appearances, does the four fouls rule lessen a kicker's true kicking ability, and thus cause the need for a pinch kicker to sub in later innings, or during bases loaded situation?)I mean, you know it's coming. The Bill James of Kickball won't be far behind.
It's like during the scene at the end of The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), and the kids from both countries were just playing together on the sandlots, away from pressurized commercialization.It's coming. Commercialization of Kickball is coming. Take it to the bank. But at that, it's still probably better watching than something like Women's Soccer.Replies: @Steve Sailer, @Achmed E. Newman
There you go, actual kickball is American. Once you get above 10 y/o at the most, you should have switched to baseball if you’re a boy and softball, if anything at all, if you’re a girl. I’ve never seen adults play, but I’ve seen them play whiffleball in college – that was a special, nerdy crowd.
We used to play kickball in the street every evening until it got dark for big parts of the summer. We’d have to move for cars, is all.
Sorry, I played soccer too, way back, but any game in which you can’t use your God-given limbs for what they are for is asinine. I just call it “Commie” because most of us Americans see it as being played only by Latin Americans and then a few Socialist Euroweenies. I’ve written this before, but I do understand it’s a great aerobic game. However, if you want that, play Ultimate Frisbee. The way the disc flies is way, way cooler than what a ball can do.
Yes, yes, YES! Exactly. Those were the days. And we'd always used to yell 'Four fouls! ' Wheenever someone kicked the ball foul and they were automatically out.
https://www.wabe.org/app/uploads/2017/11/AP_17305568259983-scaled.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Mercedes-Benz_Stadium_with_the_Georgia_Dome_remains_in_the_foreground_%2827663350329%29.jpg
We are being ruled today by the fat, ugly girls who didn't get invited to the prom. If they aren't getting hit on, nobody gets hit on.Replies: @Up2Drew
As a friend of mine says – whether it’s golf or club memberships or private high schools: Women don’t actually want their own s**t, they want to ruin our s**t.
2) This is not a Feral Gov't thing, for a change, so I appreciate that. However, I don't read much about the evil of Title IX here, such as when the ex-men athletes were being discussed. At least the taxpayers are not involved in this one.
Those men players are getting a hard and fast shot of equity... and they can't use their arms.Replies: @Patrick in SC, @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @Bardon Kaldlan
Walker Zimmerman is a ruggedly handsome German ( Men of Unz’ fave race) athlete,A guy we’d normally look up to. Why is he acting like a dirt bag girly man?
And what did those players “learn” in those conversations?
” Sign zee paper! Ve haff vays to make you cooperate! Sign zee paper!”
Like maybe you wouldn’t be on the next team if you dont,well,play ball?
Stinks to high heaven. Pure bullshit.
The only good thing from the last Olympics,aside from that gymnast quitting😉was the execrable “womens” team getting their ass kicked. It was awesome.😂
I hate these nasty,self centered,domestic violence doing bitches.
I only hope this is not the end of this crap!
All four majors were amateur tournaments until 1968! The US, Wimbledon, and French used to run separate professional tournaments. Bobby Riggs won the US Amateur in 1939 and 1941, then won the US Pro in 1946, 1947, and 1949. The last winner of the US Pro was Rod Laver, who won in 1964, 1966, and 1967 after winning the US Amateur in 1962. He then won the second US Open in 1969 and was the first professional to win, after Arthur Ashe won the first US Open as an amateur.
Now, the question is: Why does the current US Open retain the history of the US Amateur? Maybe because both were played at Forest Hills, so logistically it became opening up the more prestigious tournament to pros, rather than promoting the current pro tournament to Grand Slam status.
Be fair, the stars of the USWNT are more recognizable than the stars of the USMNT. Now if you want to say this is because they receive outsized media coverage, I wouldn’t argue with you, but I would recognize Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Megan Rapinoe, &c instantaneously. Meanwhile, the only man I would recognize would be Alexi Lalas, a Rutgers alumnus. I live only a few miles from Tony Meola and while I know his name, I wouldn’t recognize him if he knocked on my front door.
Strangers? Strangers who are dykes??
She wishes.
Until recently, when the team slowly became a bunch of showboating asswipes (thanks NBA!) and tedious political activists, led by a pink-haired freak with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mount Rushmore. The dads of America don't like this, and are slowly turning away from it. We're going to witness a steep decline in the popularity of women's soccer.Replies: @Corvinus, @Lurker
I think there are only about 300 people in the whole world who care about women’s soccer. Of course if you leave out the players – even fewer.
Over here the BBC are very excited about it. I was amused to see some breathless coverage of some game and noted the empty stands. Barely any more people watching than on the pitch.
Yikes!
Wait… shouldn’t they be required to share the money with paralympic soccer players, too?
On the flip side, at least it’s just the male players have to pay for it. Or will watching women’s soccer become obligatory as well?
This equal pay in soccer thing is a great idea. So when is the media going to start talking about all of the college girls players who get scholarships to play soccer and all of the male players who don’t?
If so it was most likely rigged for the benefit of advertising revenues for FIFA and its broadcasters, and not for the benefit of Americans, per se. Having America in a tournament gets you 330 million potential eyeballs from basically the richest country on the planet (richer than all but a few much smaller, much happier…and much whiter nations).
What does it mean for the NBA? Nothing. Tbe men who play for the NBA already recognize that their league subsidizes the WNBA with tens of millions and still hasn’t been able to build any significant interest in those nags, either in ticket sales nor TV viewership. Hilarious to imagine that they would consider sharing their contract salaries with the gals. And a simple solution for the US mens and women’s soccer teams is a winner take all playoff. If the women beat the mens team, they get the entire purse. That is perhaps the only soccer game I would willingly sit through.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.Replies: @c matt, @kaganovitch, @MagyarFociBajnok, @Rouetheday, @Ganderson
You and your friend are wrong. Relative weakness is not a virtue. Apples to apples, the men are not only stronger but also demonstrate more skill and finesse.
Being a red-blooded American sports fan, I wouldn’t know.
The fact that you could theoretically “rig” the world cup to favor the US is precisely why soccer will never take off here.
More like 120 points, I suspect.
Men and women tennis players play on the same sized court. It would probably make sense to make men pros serve from, say, 6 feet further back.
“Difficult conversations” is code for “Some people were really unhappy and made good logical arguments and we told them to shut up.”
I’d love to hear *those* people’s stories. I’m betting it was the Hispanics.
We used to play kickball in the street every evening until it got dark for big parts of the summer. We'd have to move for cars, is all.
Sorry, I played soccer too, way back, but any game in which you can't use your God-given limbs for what they are for is asinine. I just call it "Commie" because most of us Americans see it as being played only by Latin Americans and then a few Socialist Euroweenies. I've written this before, but I do understand it's a great aerobic game. However, if you want that, play Ultimate Frisbee. The way the disc flies is way, way cooler than what a ball can do.Replies: @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @possumman, @Reg Cæsar
“We used to play kickball in the street every evening until it got dark for big parts of the summer. We’d have to move for cars, is all.”
Yes, yes, YES! Exactly. Those were the days. And we’d always used to yell ‘Four fouls! ‘ Wheenever someone kicked the ball foul and they were automatically out.
Right, not surprised. I’m sure you played kickball growing up, as it was widespread throughout the US by ’60’s/’70’s.
Ok, been thinking a bit about it, and kickball helped bring it to the forefront.
For the last 30 yrs or so, MLB has obsessed over pitch counts for pitchers, with nearly every new rule change benefitting offensive production. To make it more equitable, suppose MLB institutes a hard rule, that each MLB batter will have a pitch LIMIT of 6 or 7 pitches total per AB? Total, and no more. In other words 3 balls, 2 strikes, and then a sixth pitch where they have to put the ball into play or its an automatic out? Or they could have a grace pitch, and the seventh pitch they’re automatically out?
Also, impose a 4 fouls and the batter is automatically out. That would certainly speed up the game. Ca. 1903-5, NL and AL successfully implemented the first two fouls counted as strikes, and that was intended to speed up the game. This would be taking it to the conclusion: The batter gets three fouls (two still counting as strikes), and then the fourth foul of the AB, the batter is automatically out.
In other words the batter couldn’t take pitches indefinitely, much less continually foul them off. Gone would be the days where an individual batter would see 10, 15, even 20 pitches in a single AB. It would definitely speed up the game, and perhaps shift some team’s hitting strategies, since all their hitters would see at most would be 6 or 7 pitches in total. And with these two simple rule adjustments (four fouls and automatically out; pitch limits on all batters) MLB games would be about 20-30 minutes shorter in total duration.
I'd love to hear *those* people's stories. I'm betting it was the Hispanics.Replies: @Steve Sailer
Do they let Hispanics on the US men’s soccer team? It’s usually two or three times as black as it is Latin, even though I can recall a stumpy mestizo named Maradona who was pretty good.
The women’s team is pretty much all white.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.Replies: @c matt, @kaganovitch, @MagyarFociBajnok, @Rouetheday, @Ganderson
Instead of changing to wooden racquets I think the men should be required to serve completely within the lines of the service box. I think this would slow the serves of your Reilly Opelka type brutes just enough to keep them from dominating your Diego Swartzman types. While we’re at it we should also make the same rule change for the women to thwart Amazons like Serena and Naomi Osaka. Of course, we can’t admit that’s who we’re looking to disadvantage. Instead we can pretend we’re targeting the likes of the bruising Belarussian Sabalenka. I think that could work because of, you know, “Muh Ukraine” and all.
Rapinoe is far uglier and shorter. Tilda was a very pretty if ethereal woman when younger. Yes, she’s gone w/a gender-bending look as she’s gotten older but Rapinoe was never as attractive as this:
Fun fact, this decision now means than the women’s team will make less money than they did prior to this fight they picked.
And the male players will now be paid on average more than in previous years.
For anyone curious as to why this is, and why they may have previously been lead to believe that male players were paid more. That’s because both teams has signed different contracts, but here’s the thing, the women’s team was offered the exact same contract as the men’s team and turned it down.
Why?
Well because the two contracts were structured differently, the first, was higher risk higher reward, where they were not given a guaranteed salary (only paid for games that they played) not given any health benefit, and their per game earnings were heavily shifted towards how far they advanced in the World Cup. And in the case of a World Cup win, paid out nearly 7x as much in bonus.
So what happened?
Well the women’s team took the second contract, which was a guaranteed salary structure (so you were paid regardless of if you played), with health benefits. The lower risk, lower reward of the two contracts.
But then they went on to win the Women’s World Cup.
And because hindsight is 20/20, their captain got greedy and realized they could have made over five times as much money had they signed the riskier contract.
But when they sued, it turned out that overall they had earned more money than the men’s team, because the men’s team didn’t earn any bonuses, because qualifying for the World Cup, much less winning it, isn’t guaranteed.
TLDR: Female team signed contract with guaranteed pay but with lower bonuses, then got mad when they realized they could have made more money with the riskier no guarantee bonus structured contract. Now this new contract pays them less than the previous one with more bonuses, but the men’s team now gets paid more through guarantees.
I have teenage sons, it wouldn’t look any different.
These are the All Blacks:
These are the Black Ferns:
Any questions?
Wait, Rapinoe isn’t a transgender?!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10833483/LeBron-James-17-year-old-son-Bronny-faces-racist-abuse-taking-white-girl-high-school-prom.html
Cry me a f**king river, LeBron. You're one of the luckiest people who've ever lived. You won the genetic lottery. You've earned a billion dollars playing a stupid little game. You should get down on your knees and thank God you were born in a country that showered you with fame and fortune. Instead you bitch and moan about petty insults.Replies: @duncsbaby, @Ron Mexico
I bet the racist trolls were mostly black guys.
I, woman-hating Man of Unz that I most surely am, support you, Alden.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10833483/LeBron-James-17-year-old-son-Bronny-faces-racist-abuse-taking-white-girl-high-school-prom.html
Cry me a f**king river, LeBron. You're one of the luckiest people who've ever lived. You won the genetic lottery. You've earned a billion dollars playing a stupid little game. You should get down on your knees and thank God you were born in a country that showered you with fame and fortune. Instead you bitch and moan about petty insults.Replies: @duncsbaby, @Ron Mexico
All the racist trolls were from Black Twitter.
Not likely, given your own words that “OTOH, every eight-year-old girl plays soccer and loves the women’s team”.Replies: @Ron Mexico
“OTOH, every eight-year-old girl plays soccer and loves the women’s team”.
Neither are true, and that is why there won’t be a steep decline in popularity, when there wasn’t much popularity to begin with.
Is that because there are American women who play well? Could be, but the women’s game has been more popular for a long time.
A tennis buff friend of mine suggested that it’s because the men serve so fast there are too many aces. The combination of stronger men and much better rackets make the game rather boring. The weaker women tend to have to rely on skill and finesse.
Perhaps a solution for the men would be similar to pro baseball— go back to the sort of wooden rackets Jimmy Connor and John McEnroe used. Imagine how boring Major League Baseball would be with juiced carbon fiber bats. Practically every at bat would be a strikeout or a home run. Yawn. That’s about where the top men’s tennis players are.Replies: @c matt, @kaganovitch, @MagyarFociBajnok, @Rouetheday, @Ganderson
Paleo- it’s already the case that in modern pro baseball practically every AB is a strikeout or HR ( or a walk)
Apart from idiotic names-strange.... They should be darker.
https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?q=60&c=sc&rect=18%2C79%2C1080%2C610&poi=%5B550%2C235%5D&w=1080&h=540&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2021%2F03%2F06%2Fhope-solo.jpgReplies: @Brutusale
Her husband is a mulatto. The dark side reigns supreme in him, starting in high school.
Criminal allegations
Violent crime
In spring 1998, Stevens—a high school senior—was charged with felony assault, which led to three weeks in the Thurston County jail after testing positive for marijuana, which violated the terms of his home confinement. “The felony charge appeared to place his [University of Washington football] scholarship in jeopardy—but three UW coaches wrote the judge, saying the UW’s offer was still good.”[37]
In July 2000, Stevens was arrested and charged with rape. UW athletic director Barbara Hedges told news media that UW would investigate sexual battery charges; but the University did not. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng’s office “agreed to give crucial police evidence—the victim and witness statements—to Stevens’s lawyers before the interview.” This was directly contrary to standard police procedure, and the Seattle Police did not agree to release those statements. Despite DNA evidence, Maleng’s office declined to prosecute.[37]
On March 3, 2011, Stevens was arrested and charged with felony battery for punching two bouncers in a Tampa, Florida bar. According to his attorney, who denied the charges, after Stevens was released from jail, he was treated for “multiple broken ribs and extensive bruising to his body and face.”[38]
On November 12, 2012, Stevens was arrested on investigation of assault following an altercation that left his fiancée, soccer star Hope Solo, injured, but a Kirkland, Washington judge dropped the case the following day for lack of evidence.[39] The pair were wed November 13, 2012, the day after the arrest.[35]
Traffic violations
On October 19, 2000, Stevens sideswiped Donald Preston’s Dodge Daytona on I-5 after “driving like a maniac” and “using the HOV lane as a passing lane.” He fled the scene without giving any information to Preston. The State Trooper who tracked him via the license plate on his red truck did not charge him with hit-and-run but instead cited him for “driving too fast for conditions.”[37]
On May 4, 2001, Stevens was cited for reckless driving and hit and run after crashing his pickup truck into a retirement home. The crash knocked a dresser onto a bed where a 92-year-old woman was sleeping.[40] Stevens first lied, saying he did not know who was driving his truck; he later pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and causing property damage and was given a suspended 90-day jail sentence, 240 hours of community service, and probation.[37][3][41]
In 2002, after signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Stevens was ticketed for going 98 mph in his new Range Rover. Three months later, he was cited for negligent driving and paid a \$490 fine.[37]
On April 3, 2003, Stevens was stopped by Medina, Washington police and was charged with reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving. For violating probation from the May 2001 incident, Stevens served five days in jail effective June 12, 2003 and was ordered to do 40 hours of community service.[41] For the reckless driving charge, Stevens was sentenced to two days in jail, 25 hours of community service, and a \$1,000 fine on June 23.[42] The sentencing judge compared Stevens to Reggie Rogers, another star University of Washington football player who was convicted of DUI.[42]
On March 13, 2007, eleven days after he became a free agent, Stevens was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona for suspicion of DUI after his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.204, more than twice the legal limit of .08 and considered “extreme DUI” in Arizona. On September 7, a jury found Stevens guilty.[43] Although the crime carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, the judge gave Stevens 12 days, “suspending the other 18 because he was enrolled in the NFL’s substance-abuse program, the same program Stevens entered in 2003, after being stopped with two open champagne bottles in his car.” The NFL suspended him for one game.[37][44]
On January 19, 2015, Stevens, then 35, was arrested in Manhattan Beach, California for suspicion of DUI.[45] As a result of this incident, Steven’s wife Hope Solo was suspended for thirty days from the U.S. Soccer team for showing poor judgement in entering the car and arguing with the police.[46] In May, Stevens was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years’ probation for driving a U.S. soccer team van while drunk. The judge also mandated a two-year outpatient alcohol program. Stevens had refused a blood or breathalyzer test; officers had to obtain a search warrant to draw a blood sample; his blood-alcohol concentration was at least 0.15%.[47]
Other issues
On March 16, 2007, The Seattle Times reported that multiple complaints were raised against Stevens by other residents in his condominium complex. The complaints included vomit on their doors, used condoms on the back porch, loud parties at all hours of the night, and various noise complaints.[48]
On October 23, 2010, Stevens was arrested and charged in Tampa with possession of marijuana. Stevens had been pulled over for playing loud music, when the officer smelled marijuana, and discovered 38 grams of it in his car.[30] Stevens was sentenced to probation until October 2013 for the incident but returned to Hillsborough County, Florida jail on November 28, 2012, for violating probation.[49]
Countenance writes:
Obvious hate speech, prepare for rainbow-hair other-teamers to mutter and howl about cancellation. Or ignore and get on with commenting.
This overweening sense of entitlement to other people and their stuff--money, schools, country clubs, neighbors, nations--is the core of minoritarianism. The core of our problem.Replies: @LP5
AnotherDad writes:
People could say that they weren’t overwienered enough.
I have a confession to make. It really pains me to hear that a Gamecock has been drafted by a WNBA team. And there are many. Gamecocks are the top dog in women’s basketball.
What I would have liked to have heard is that A’ja Wilson, et al, upon graduation, got a position with Milliken or Michelin or Weyerhaeuser. Far better career opportunity. Going to WNBA puts them on a career path to end up being car salesmen.
Ty Harris and Brea Beal, e.g., are good people, and deserve a better fate.
Let’s take a step back from the players and league to consider society. Do you know the general knowledge subtest of IQ tests includes sports questions? When they didn’t, women outscored men by a lot. That’s what I’d read, but a quick googling could not confirm.
American men are so into sports that the ceiling for more sports is low. When what, 80% of men spend most of their recreation time watching football/baseball/basketball/hockey, the chance of any new sport or league gaining traction is pretty low.
Would any purpose be served by women becoming sports fanatics? Some girl jocks would make money, I guess.
They would get to meet and hook up with future husbands/bfs. At the high end, the better looking women would have the chance to snag an elite athlete.
As sports are all based on the bottom line, there are few opportunities for women athletes to make serious bank because most of the sports fandom is dominated by men, and men don't care about women's sports that in turn would cause these female athletes to make big money.
There are men of all ages who live, die and breathe for their favorite sports teams. But there simply aren't enough men's sports fans who are fanatical about women athletes/women sports leagues. And women for the most part, aren't anywhere near caring about women's sports. So basically the women athletes haven't any significant fanbase to make serious earnings (especially when compared with their male athlete counterparts).
Criminal allegations
Violent crime
In spring 1998, Stevens—a high school senior—was charged with felony assault, which led to three weeks in the Thurston County jail after testing positive for marijuana, which violated the terms of his home confinement. "The felony charge appeared to place his [University of Washington football] scholarship in jeopardy—but three UW coaches wrote the judge, saying the UW's offer was still good."[37]
In July 2000, Stevens was arrested and charged with rape. UW athletic director Barbara Hedges told news media that UW would investigate sexual battery charges; but the University did not. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng's office "agreed to give crucial police evidence—the victim and witness statements—to Stevens's lawyers before the interview." This was directly contrary to standard police procedure, and the Seattle Police did not agree to release those statements. Despite DNA evidence, Maleng's office declined to prosecute.[37]
On March 3, 2011, Stevens was arrested and charged with felony battery for punching two bouncers in a Tampa, Florida bar. According to his attorney, who denied the charges, after Stevens was released from jail, he was treated for "multiple broken ribs and extensive bruising to his body and face."[38]
On November 12, 2012, Stevens was arrested on investigation of assault following an altercation that left his fiancée, soccer star Hope Solo, injured, but a Kirkland, Washington judge dropped the case the following day for lack of evidence.[39] The pair were wed November 13, 2012, the day after the arrest.[35]
Traffic violations
On October 19, 2000, Stevens sideswiped Donald Preston's Dodge Daytona on I-5 after "driving like a maniac" and "using the HOV lane as a passing lane." He fled the scene without giving any information to Preston. The State Trooper who tracked him via the license plate on his red truck did not charge him with hit-and-run but instead cited him for "driving too fast for conditions."[37]
On May 4, 2001, Stevens was cited for reckless driving and hit and run after crashing his pickup truck into a retirement home. The crash knocked a dresser onto a bed where a 92-year-old woman was sleeping.[40] Stevens first lied, saying he did not know who was driving his truck; he later pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and causing property damage and was given a suspended 90-day jail sentence, 240 hours of community service, and probation.[37][3][41]
In 2002, after signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Stevens was ticketed for going 98 mph in his new Range Rover. Three months later, he was cited for negligent driving and paid a $490 fine.[37]
On April 3, 2003, Stevens was stopped by Medina, Washington police and was charged with reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving. For violating probation from the May 2001 incident, Stevens served five days in jail effective June 12, 2003 and was ordered to do 40 hours of community service.[41] For the reckless driving charge, Stevens was sentenced to two days in jail, 25 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine on June 23.[42] The sentencing judge compared Stevens to Reggie Rogers, another star University of Washington football player who was convicted of DUI.[42]
On March 13, 2007, eleven days after he became a free agent, Stevens was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona for suspicion of DUI after his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.204, more than twice the legal limit of .08 and considered "extreme DUI" in Arizona. On September 7, a jury found Stevens guilty.[43] Although the crime carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, the judge gave Stevens 12 days, "suspending the other 18 because he was enrolled in the NFL's substance-abuse program, the same program Stevens entered in 2003, after being stopped with two open champagne bottles in his car." The NFL suspended him for one game.[37][44]
On January 19, 2015, Stevens, then 35, was arrested in Manhattan Beach, California for suspicion of DUI.[45] As a result of this incident, Steven's wife Hope Solo was suspended for thirty days from the U.S. Soccer team for showing poor judgement in entering the car and arguing with the police.[46] In May, Stevens was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years' probation for driving a U.S. soccer team van while drunk. The judge also mandated a two-year outpatient alcohol program. Stevens had refused a blood or breathalyzer test; officers had to obtain a search warrant to draw a blood sample; his blood-alcohol concentration was at least 0.15%.[47]
Other issues
On March 16, 2007, The Seattle Times reported that multiple complaints were raised against Stevens by other residents in his condominium complex. The complaints included vomit on their doors, used condoms on the back porch, loud parties at all hours of the night, and various noise complaints.[48]
On October 23, 2010, Stevens was arrested and charged in Tampa with possession of marijuana. Stevens had been pulled over for playing loud music, when the officer smelled marijuana, and discovered 38 grams of it in his car.[30] Stevens was sentenced to probation until October 2013 for the incident but returned to Hillsborough County, Florida jail on November 28, 2012, for violating probation.[49]Replies: @Rob, @Yojimbo/Zatoichi
I can’t say that I approve of the rape and assaults, but I’ll give him this. The dude knows how to party.
We used to play kickball in the street every evening until it got dark for big parts of the summer. We'd have to move for cars, is all.
Sorry, I played soccer too, way back, but any game in which you can't use your God-given limbs for what they are for is asinine. I just call it "Commie" because most of us Americans see it as being played only by Latin Americans and then a few Socialist Euroweenies. I've written this before, but I do understand it's a great aerobic game. However, if you want that, play Ultimate Frisbee. The way the disc flies is way, way cooler than what a ball can do.Replies: @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @possumman, @Reg Cæsar
My 30 something kid plays Kickball –Ultimate and indoor soccer in various adult leagues–Ultimate Frisbee seems to be the most serious–of course he lives in Colorado so what do you expect
Criminal allegations
Violent crime
In spring 1998, Stevens—a high school senior—was charged with felony assault, which led to three weeks in the Thurston County jail after testing positive for marijuana, which violated the terms of his home confinement. "The felony charge appeared to place his [University of Washington football] scholarship in jeopardy—but three UW coaches wrote the judge, saying the UW's offer was still good."[37]
In July 2000, Stevens was arrested and charged with rape. UW athletic director Barbara Hedges told news media that UW would investigate sexual battery charges; but the University did not. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng's office "agreed to give crucial police evidence—the victim and witness statements—to Stevens's lawyers before the interview." This was directly contrary to standard police procedure, and the Seattle Police did not agree to release those statements. Despite DNA evidence, Maleng's office declined to prosecute.[37]
On March 3, 2011, Stevens was arrested and charged with felony battery for punching two bouncers in a Tampa, Florida bar. According to his attorney, who denied the charges, after Stevens was released from jail, he was treated for "multiple broken ribs and extensive bruising to his body and face."[38]
On November 12, 2012, Stevens was arrested on investigation of assault following an altercation that left his fiancée, soccer star Hope Solo, injured, but a Kirkland, Washington judge dropped the case the following day for lack of evidence.[39] The pair were wed November 13, 2012, the day after the arrest.[35]
Traffic violations
On October 19, 2000, Stevens sideswiped Donald Preston's Dodge Daytona on I-5 after "driving like a maniac" and "using the HOV lane as a passing lane." He fled the scene without giving any information to Preston. The State Trooper who tracked him via the license plate on his red truck did not charge him with hit-and-run but instead cited him for "driving too fast for conditions."[37]
On May 4, 2001, Stevens was cited for reckless driving and hit and run after crashing his pickup truck into a retirement home. The crash knocked a dresser onto a bed where a 92-year-old woman was sleeping.[40] Stevens first lied, saying he did not know who was driving his truck; he later pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and causing property damage and was given a suspended 90-day jail sentence, 240 hours of community service, and probation.[37][3][41]
In 2002, after signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Stevens was ticketed for going 98 mph in his new Range Rover. Three months later, he was cited for negligent driving and paid a $490 fine.[37]
On April 3, 2003, Stevens was stopped by Medina, Washington police and was charged with reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving. For violating probation from the May 2001 incident, Stevens served five days in jail effective June 12, 2003 and was ordered to do 40 hours of community service.[41] For the reckless driving charge, Stevens was sentenced to two days in jail, 25 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine on June 23.[42] The sentencing judge compared Stevens to Reggie Rogers, another star University of Washington football player who was convicted of DUI.[42]
On March 13, 2007, eleven days after he became a free agent, Stevens was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona for suspicion of DUI after his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.204, more than twice the legal limit of .08 and considered "extreme DUI" in Arizona. On September 7, a jury found Stevens guilty.[43] Although the crime carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, the judge gave Stevens 12 days, "suspending the other 18 because he was enrolled in the NFL's substance-abuse program, the same program Stevens entered in 2003, after being stopped with two open champagne bottles in his car." The NFL suspended him for one game.[37][44]
On January 19, 2015, Stevens, then 35, was arrested in Manhattan Beach, California for suspicion of DUI.[45] As a result of this incident, Steven's wife Hope Solo was suspended for thirty days from the U.S. Soccer team for showing poor judgement in entering the car and arguing with the police.[46] In May, Stevens was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years' probation for driving a U.S. soccer team van while drunk. The judge also mandated a two-year outpatient alcohol program. Stevens had refused a blood or breathalyzer test; officers had to obtain a search warrant to draw a blood sample; his blood-alcohol concentration was at least 0.15%.[47]
Other issues
On March 16, 2007, The Seattle Times reported that multiple complaints were raised against Stevens by other residents in his condominium complex. The complaints included vomit on their doors, used condoms on the back porch, loud parties at all hours of the night, and various noise complaints.[48]
On October 23, 2010, Stevens was arrested and charged in Tampa with possession of marijuana. Stevens had been pulled over for playing loud music, when the officer smelled marijuana, and discovered 38 grams of it in his car.[30] Stevens was sentenced to probation until October 2013 for the incident but returned to Hillsborough County, Florida jail on November 28, 2012, for violating probation.[49]Replies: @Rob, @Yojimbo/Zatoichi
In June 2014, an intoxicated Hope Solo violently assaulted her underaged nephew, before attacking her step-sister. The case dragged on for well over a year, with the sister about to be called by the state as a witness, when at the last moment the sister refused to testify. Once she was cleared of all charges, the state of WA ordered Solo to never come within 1000 ft of either her sister or her nephew, and Solo promptly moved out of the state of WA.
This sounds like white supremacism to me. Why should American women be paid more than guys who fill stadia in Africa?
“Share of the gate” might be a fair compromise, but Steve’s Studio City neighbors can tell you how that worked out in their industry.
American men are so into sports that the ceiling for more sports is low. When what, 80% of men spend most of their recreation time watching football/baseball/basketball/hockey, the chance of any new sport or league gaining traction is pretty low.
Would any purpose be served by women becoming sports fanatics? Some girl jocks would make money, I guess.Replies: @Yojimbo/Zatoichi
“Would any purpose be served by women becoming sports fanatics? Some girl jocks would make money, I guess.”
They would get to meet and hook up with future husbands/bfs. At the high end, the better looking women would have the chance to snag an elite athlete.
As sports are all based on the bottom line, there are few opportunities for women athletes to make serious bank because most of the sports fandom is dominated by men, and men don’t care about women’s sports that in turn would cause these female athletes to make big money.
There are men of all ages who live, die and breathe for their favorite sports teams. But there simply aren’t enough men’s sports fans who are fanatical about women athletes/women sports leagues. And women for the most part, aren’t anywhere near caring about women’s sports. So basically the women athletes haven’t any significant fanbase to make serious earnings (especially when compared with their male athlete counterparts).
We used to play kickball in the street every evening until it got dark for big parts of the summer. We'd have to move for cars, is all.
Sorry, I played soccer too, way back, but any game in which you can't use your God-given limbs for what they are for is asinine. I just call it "Commie" because most of us Americans see it as being played only by Latin Americans and then a few Socialist Euroweenies. I've written this before, but I do understand it's a great aerobic game. However, if you want that, play Ultimate Frisbee. The way the disc flies is way, way cooler than what a ball can do.Replies: @Yojimbo/Zatoichi, @possumman, @Reg Cæsar
So you prefer judo to boxing?
In privately-funded stadiums. Something rare in socialist North America.
Makes me not want to watch both the men’s and women’s teams in Qatar.
Pathetic and embarrassing.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the blacks either.
He said the process of persuading the rest of his teammates to share the money involved “difficult conversations, a lot of listening, a lot of learning.”
“Give it to them.”
“Do I really have to?”
“give it, give it, give it”
really difficult conversation, what a complex concept to learn.