Commentary b
y McKenna Rex
Kicking, Punching, Tackling, and grunting reminds us of strength, and for others their sports. It takes more than strength to fight your way to the top. Ronda Rousey, a female boxer defeated her opponent in March, in 14 seconds. This became the fastest Submission in a UFC Title match becoming second behind the match of Oleg Taktarov vs. Anthony Macias at six seconds. In this male dominated Sport, Rousey rose to the top proving her worth in the league and showing no mercy to her opponent. Many athletes still do not respect her, because of her gender. In these male driven sports, there now has been the recent addition of female referees.
The NFL and NBA have made headlines this year about their newly added Female refs. Sarah thomas was added this football season as the first female referee in NFL history. The NBA introduced its third female referee, Violet Palmer, but many have complained that her calls are ridiculous and awful.
The overall factor is that These women have not been given the respect they deserve. The Women who are Referees worked their way to the top to have these positions. The same goes for the Female athletes. Rousey started her judo training at age 11 and at high school age, qualified at the olympics for Judo. In her later life, joined Mixed Martial arts and won many gold medals in championships. Sarah Thomas worked as a ref at high school varsity level, and was recruited to work at the NFL 7 years later.
These women work to the top and are told by men in these sports that they are not respected. That their actions were just guesses and that they no nothing about these sports. These women worked toward the top, the same as the men, and did this through training and strength. If they both climbed to the top equally, then why are they treated as they did not?
