Opinion: Women copying the worst in men’s basketball

I don’t expect women to be “ladies.” I expect them to be women, just as I expect men to be men.

Gender confusion aside, I’m surprised about the level of thuggy violence I’m seeing in women’s basketball, both at the college and professional level.

In a recent example, Kamilla Cardoso – and a bunch of her South Carolina teammates – were ejected from their game against LSU on Sunday.  The Gamecocks won the SEC title 79-72, but the occasion was marred by Cardoso knocking Flau-jae Johnson to the ground, triggering a melee that was – I think – a key moment in the trajectory of women’s athletics.

Cardoso apologized for her actions in a social media post and seemed contrite, but to me this is just a highly visible example of a problem that’s getting worse. Spend some time browsing YouTube and you’ll find plenty of examples of similar events, including some that occurred in the handshake line after the game!

I know that basketball is hardly a no-contact game, and some players will push the envelope to gain an advantage. But there is a line and we’re seeing it increasingly being crossed.  Violence in men’s sports has long been explained away with the influence of testosterone … a male hormone associated with bad-boy behavior.

I think what’s happened is that the women are imitating – or at least being influenced by – the bad examples of men.    Back in 1971 women’s athletic programs joined together into the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, since the NCAA didn’t have much interest in female sports. The promise at the time was to “avoid all mistakes made by the NCAA.”

That group eventually drove the AIAW out of business by 1983.

Sports are supposed to build character, and – to me – one of the highest aspects of that is self-control. Too many players don’t have much of it, and neither do many of the coaches and officials from high school on up.

“Man up” is supposed to mean show some maturity and restraint. “Woman up” ought to mean the same.