If you take a brief look into the history of the sexes, you will notice a couple of different things. First, women have always been marginalized because of their gender identity, and typically by men. Second, men are absolute and utter douchebags. Does not matter if they are gay, straight, black, white, short, tall…they are pretty much douchebags in some way shape or form. That is not an eloquent way to say it, but quite frankly we are running out of ways to say it.
The latest example of this douchebag movement? Tony Massarotti. He http://sports.cbslocal.com/2017/02/15/massarotti-uconn-womens-basketball-winning-streak-doesnt-count/recently wrote on the topic of UCONN WBB and their recent historic streak of 100 wins in a row. He wrote, that it did not count. The language he wrote it, referring to the members of the Women’s Basketball program at UCONN as girls, diminishes the accomplishments of not only these women, but all women in sport everywhere. It represents each and every single one of their accomplishments individually but also collectively. He somehow managed to criticize the fact that UCONN had the top three picks in the 2016 WNBA draft on the roster, led by Geno Auriemma. He compares Auriemma to Wooden, and how Wooden often had the single best player on the floor, which builds up the accomplishments of Wooden and his UCLA squads.
Are you fucking kidding me? First of all, you are faulting Auriemma for his recruiting. Wouldn’t any coach love to be able to have three calibers such as Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck? Ask any coach in the country and I am willing to bet they would take a trio like that on their roster any day of the week. It begins and ends with recruiting in college basketball. BCS caliber programs often compete for similar kids, and Auriemma more often than not will come out on top of a recruiting battle. This will piss off most other programs (Google search the Maya Moore recruiting battle that ticked off Tennessee).
Secondly, if Massarotti was an avid fan of women’s basketball and paid more attention to that than his ever growing ego, he would know Auriemma is beyond demanding of his players. He would be the first person to find something each player could not do as a freshman, and how over the course of four years they grew. Moriah Jefferson was a gifted athlete and basketball player; her speed and play as a point guard was exceptional as a senior. Auriemma would be the first to tell you she probably could not run full speed with the basketball as a freshman without turning it over. Stewart, he would probably say, could not handle the physical and mental demands of playing at UCONN. Auriemma is critical of any player, pushing them to maximize their talents and potential. Current Husky Gabby Williams, who recently had a triple double in one game, got benched in the first half for poor body language. Auriemma does not care if you are the top player or the beloved walk on: You are going to be challenged and pushed to your limits.
Winning one national championship is not easy. Winning 11 national championships is unheard of. Winning 100 games in a row? Unprecedented. I’m tired of men diminishing the accomplishment. If it was so easy to win 100 games, simply put, Wooden probably would have accomplished it. Or Coach K. Or Coach Calipari of Kentucky. I hope that if you have a daughter or do have a daughter in the near future, she reads your comments and feels devalued because of the words you write, and the attitude you displayed to a talented group of women who are demanded perfection with every possession. With every game, every practice, every lift. I would gather that I watched at least 95/100 games of this winning streak they are on. And I can tell you, that if you watched the five that I did not…you would not write a diminishing piece of historic history in sport. The challenges these talented young woman are rising to accomplish are not coming from Auriemma anymore. They are coming from sexist pigs like you who diminish them. So congratulate yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. You are on the wrong side of history, and will probably watching a 12th National Championship come to UCONN this year at the rate these women achieve this year. I just hope you do not piss all over that too.
