Yeah, and the first time a woman is taken off the football field with a sheet over her head and a broken neck we will be hearing how it is all men's fault.
And that is the bloody truth.
I played football for years, and I am a big, big guy. I have gotten hit so hard I have flipped one and a half times in the air, been knocked out of my shoe, knocked out - and this was only up to Jr. High School.
You've seen the "Greatest Hits" videos.
In 8th grade, a girl decided she wanted to play, and rather than defend a lawsuit (Which was a popular tactic at the time) the league decided to let her, without comment. Which kind of took the wind out of things; I think in part her (single) mother was looking to do a PR stunt.
Even being a relatively big girl, as far as girls go, she was obviously too slender for a line position, and couldn't catch, and threw like a girl. So - she became a running back. A couple weeks into practice, we're doing drills where you have a few linemen on a few linemen try to open a hole, and the running backs rotate and try to get at least 4 yards. (Our coach had the philosophy that if you aimed for four yards on every play, you would control the game. Since we won the championship that year 49-0, I'd say he had a point.)
Me and two other big guys were the defensive line. Chuckie was smaller than me but greased lightning. Bobby was a little shorter, slower, but a monster in size and could stop people with one hand. I was the spiderman, all over the place. And while doing this drill, rotating people in and out her turn came, and came round again.
Now, you have to understand - this was an offensive drill. We doing the defense were meat dummies. We rotated ourselves out if we felt the need, he just wanted the best guys if at all possible. The offensive line changed, the backs changed. We had now way of keeping track who was who. Do it quick and fast. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Make it second nature.
A holoe opens (5 offensive linemen) and she takes the ball and runs for it. I grab her, reaching over the line. Bobby smears her. Her and an offensive lineman both.
A good hit - solid. Hard. Clean. And nothing that hadn't been delivered, at one time or another, to any other back onj the team, who had bounced up laughing.
She gets up slowly. Goes and stands with the backs. Walks away. Takes off her helmet. Cries. Doesn't complete practice.
That was it for her. And of course, we were accused of "Targeting" her. Even after we had been cautioned not to - indeed, the one guy who did lost his place on the team.
Fortunately the coach had been taping such drills. Now way. There were, throughout that drill, a lot, lot harder hits on a lot smaller guys.
But yeah - you nailed it. Even if "girl rules" aren't codified, they will be implied. And not taking it easy on them will be seen as targeting them by the womanists.
