Gender Difference Wars

The political correctness rage goes on to sports. From the recent less than honest look at the Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match of decades ago to a bizarre interview with ex tennis great John McEnroe it is getting curiouser and curiouser.

During a taped segment with National Public Radio interviewer Lulu Garcia Navarro, retired tennis great John McEnroe said of the current best female in the world tennis star, Serena Williams, “If she played the men's circuit she'd be like 700 in the world. That doesn't mean I don't think Serena is an incredible player. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be I think something that perhaps it’d be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower. And on a given day, Serena could beat some men's players. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke ’cause she’s been in it so many times, so many situations at Wimbledon, The U.S. Open, etc. But if she had to just play the the men’s circuit that would be an entirely different story."

And all hell broke loose because McEnroe had the audacity to suggest that females and males are different enough physically that females rarely can compete on equal terms with males at the highest level. Given the speed at which men pick up returns in their tennis game, the velocity and power of their serves and the fact that the men's side focuses on aces and ace returns, Serene or any woman would be facing a wholly different sort of challenge at a man's event.  If one checks times in Olympic events, any Olympic event that is judged objectively by time, it is obvious why men and women compete in different divisions, by sex. It's because men have a huge advantage in sports that require speed and strength. If those women were entered in those Olympic events none would win, according to the times of all winners in male and female events.

So why is it a sin to say what is true? Why is it offensive to say that Serena is the best in female tennis as McEnroe has said over and over, but she could not compete as a winner on the men's tour?  Because in our politically correct age we are supposed pretend that we all have equal ability, not just equal opportunity. It should be enough to say that Serena Williams has dominated her sport (women's tennis) in a way and to an extent that makes her almost inarguably the greatest tennis champion ever and one of the greatest athletes of all time.

She need not be compared to men, elevated artificially to their equal on the court to be the greatest tennis chap of al time. Yet, the crazy PC crowd  wants more. It wants us to pretend an apple is an orange and a better orange than all other oranges. McEnroe was asked a question which he answered honestly, so why is there a need to pull the sexist stunt of claiming that when one says men and women have differences  we are anti female or pro male.? McEnroe said that Serena was the greatest female player ever. Why does her greatness have to be validated in comparison to men to be legitimate? Ask the PC world that one.