#Women’s sports is not a backup plan for second rate males

[coochiequeens]

Update on a story I posted about earlier this week

President of Canadian Powerlifting Union QUITS in the wake of transgender controversy - as female competitor April Hutchison who was suspended for speaking out slams him for 'not protecting women in sport'

Shane Martin, president of Canada's powerlifting body, has resigned

Last week, the union suspended April Hutchinson for two years after she spoke out about a transgender rival

In August, transgender powerlifter Anne Andres set a new Canadian woman's national record

Hutchinson told DailyMail.com she plans on appealing her suspension  

By RACHEL BOWMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 16:39 EST, 16 November 2023 | UPDATED: 16:56 EST, 16 November 2023

President of Canada's powerlifting body has resigned less than a week after suspending a female athlete for criticizing a record-breaking transgender rival.

Shane Martin, Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) president, submitted his letter of resignation on Sunday, November 12.

'This position has become something I no longer recognize and I am not the one to lead this organization,' he said in his resignation.

Hid decision came just days after the organization suspended powerlifter April Hutchinson for an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored in August where she remarked on the 'physical advantages that a male has over a female.'

Hutchinson told DailyMail.com of Martin's resignation, 'Anyone especially a federation leader that does not protect women and ensure fairness in sport should rightfully so resign.'

President of Canadian Powerlifting Union resigned less than a week after suspending a female athlete for criticizing a record-breaking transgender rival

April Hutchinson praised his resignation, just days after she was set to be suspended by CPU for criticizing a transgender competitor  

She began powerlifting four years ago, and said she started her campaigning against transgender athletes' inclusion in biological female categories around a year ago.

Despite being warned almost immediately she would be banned for her stance, she said she continued speaking out for the past year because, essentially, 'we have no policy at all to protect women and girls in sports.'

After slating the transgender athlete on TV, Hutchinson became the focus of an ethics investigation by the governing body, which she tweeted the results of.

'I now face a two-year ban by the CPU for speaking publicly about the unfairness of biological males being allowed to taunt female competitors and loot their winnings,' Hutchinson said.

'Apparently, I have failed in my gender-role duties as “supporting actress” in the horror show that is my #sport right now.

'This... Even though a 13-page letter was sent to the CPU in October thoroughly debunking all accusations. Obviously, someone had to pay the price for the IPF forcing CPU to be more female-friendly.

'Let this be a lesson to all female athletes to shut-up and put-up with #SexDiscrimination. In truth, my fight does not stop here.'

Hutchinson told DailyMail.com she plans to appeal the decision by the union to suspend her.

She shared her frustration in a fiery opinion piece for DailyMail.com where she pleaded for fairness in the sport and slammed trans competitor Anne Andres for mocking her female rivals as 'weak.'

She said Andres was 'taking to social media to mock females, to belittle us as weak, to rub it in our faces.' 

At one point Andres even characterized a female rival as having 'little T-Rex arms'. 

She said that when Andres won another contest, watching her put a stuffed toy T-Rex on the podium appeared particularly pointed - especially as she noted that the only two others on the podium were only there as every other competitor had dropped out.

Hutchinson said she was threatened with a suspension when she complained too, but said she won't stop her campaigning.

'Andres has been allowed to compete, take the podium in place of a biological woman and set national records that may never be broken,' she concluded.

'Everyone knows this is unethical. But the federation has been too cowardly to do anything because the Canadian government protects "gender identity" from discrimination, alongside race, gender and sexual orientation,' she said. 

'As a result, the rights of biological women are trampled. Women must demand fairness, but even that is not enough.'

In August, Andres set a new Canadian woman's national record at the CPU National Championships – which is also an unofficial women's world record.

Andres lifted a total 597.5kg across the squat, bench and deadlift disciplines - 200kg more than her closest opponent, SuJan Gill. 

Hutchinson began powerlifting four years ago, and said she started her campaigning against transgender athletes' inclusion in biological female categories around a year ago

Transgender athlete Anne Andres was criticized for remarks she made earlier this year about her female competitors, who she said were 'so bad' at bench press - she described one as having 'little T-Rex arms' 

Andres sparked backlash in August when she captured the Canadian women's national record, beating out her nearest competitor by over 200kg in total 

Following Andres sweep, the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) issued the CPU with an ultimatum to align with the international governing body's rules on transgender competitors after trans competitor Anne Andres trounced her female competitors.

IPF rules state that competitors must prove their gender identity with government-issued ID and disclose their testosterone levels, mirroring similar policies by international sports governing bodies.

Martin said in his resignation adjusting to these rules is not what he signed up for and somebody else would be better suited for the job.

'I wanted to focus on increasing budgets for refereeing and coaching, but the last year has shifted into something I can no longer do,' Martin said.

Hutchinson believes the policy is 'very strict' to get through.

'It's protecting women. The IPF have stepped in. They don't believe in discrimination against women, and it's not fair, so this policy is a step in the right direction for women and girls and sports,' she said.

'Right now, that means that Anne cannot lift. [She] will have to apply and go through all the testing, get all the medical documentation - it could take years.'

[shontaviajesq]

Other Ways to Get Out of the Hood - Since Your Kid Probably Isn't Going to the Pros

I recently finished binge-watching Netflix's Last Chance U - a six-part documentary series about the 2015 football program at East Mississippi Community College (EMCC). EMCC is a breeding ground for football players looking to play (or return to) college football at four-year schools.

And they are good at it - this year, EMCC is sending 25 players on to four-year universities at places like Texas Tech, Pitt, Mississippi State, Purdue, and others. If you haven't heard of Last Chance U, check out the trailer below. 

I am no real fan of football, the NCAA, or the NFL (sorry, football fans) - for reasons that probably deserve a separate blog post. Last Chance U caught my attention anyway because of the human stories surrounding the kids playing at EMCC.

So many of them have backgrounds similar to my own or friends and family I know....being from small towns, growing up in poverty, having tragic childhood backstories, looking for ways to transcend beyond their current circumstances. I also noticed a common thread that seemed to run through many of their stories -- football is THE ONLY way out of the hood for them.

Most of them didn't have any plans beyond football at EMCC if they didn't get chosen by a four year college (at least among the stories told in the series). Interviews with their relatives and family members emphasized this point. This sparked a discussion between me and my husband about the significant, and seemingly growing, emphasis that many people place on professional sports in the lives of kids - especially in the African-American community and especially with black boys.

Even with Last Chance U, it profiles mostly black players - there's really only one white player profiled. He's a QB who, ironically or not, is the only one who mentions any semblance of a back up plan. And he ends up needing to use it. 

Coupled with my binge-watch, I saw a Facebook friend's post that "[the] Saddest statement I have ever heard is a kid saying, 'The only way I can get out the hood is playing basketball or football.'" There was a significant discussion through his post about all of this, which I read with great interest.  

Since this issue has been on my mind for a bit, I decided to do some research and the stats are even worse than I thought. I'm dropping them here for anyone has kids, works with kids, or is generally interested in how to talk to kids about preparing for the future. 

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) does research each year on how many college athletes end up playing professional sports. Here are the 2017 NCAA results for some of the most popular sports. The red column indicates the % of NCAA players who go to major professional teams. Note that for men's basketball and football, there's a 1.1 to 1.5% chance for an NCAA athlete to go pro, and a less than 1% chance for women's basketball players to go pro: 

If you extrapolate this out to high school athletes, the numbers are even more stark. Here's what USA Today discovered using 2016's statistics (which are very similar to 2017):  

So, breaking this down.... A male high school kid has a 0.03% chance of going to the NBA, and a 0.08% chance of going to the NFL. The numbers are even worse for female basketball players looking to go to the WNBA.

You have a better shot at winning some forms of the lottery, dying in an airplane or spaceship crash, or having triplets or higher-order multiples when getting pregnant.

Logically, it makes little sense to overemphasize a path that very few people will traverse. And though I won't get into the weeds of average career lengths (or the physical toll on the body)....Here's a little information: NFL careers last, on average, for 3.3 years. NBA? 4.8 years. MLB/NHL? About 5.5 years. Yes, an athlete can make a lot of money over this short time, but it takes discipline and a plan to allow that money to sustain a person who has retired by age 30-35 with a good 30-40 years left to live. 

This isn't to say there aren't significant benefits to sports, especially early in life. I learned many of my best lessons while playing basketball for both my dad as a elementary student in the local church league (shout out to the Second Baptist Angels!) and Coach Aubrey Pompey at Aiken High School, who was inducted into the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016.

I had moments of shine on the court, but I was no superstar. In addition, my parents and Coach Pompey emphasized to me that I need to have a plan, backup plan, backup plans to my backup plans, and multiple options after that. They also made sure we also focused on education. I don't think I ever believed that the only route out of my small town was athletics, though granted I wasn't a superstar athlete. But, we all know stories of the best person to play X from our high school who didn't make it. 

At any rate, what else can parents, teachers, and mentors suggest to their children in the face of such odds? I am a firm believer in not dashing a kid's hopes and dreams -- so if professional sports is one of their goals, more power to them. There will be some people who make it to the pros and who cultivated those dreams since childhood.  

But, as odds are definitely not in most kids' favor, there must be other options, right? How can you steer kids to multiple options?

Here's a start:

First off, everyone has certain talents and gifts. There are some good resources out there that allow kids to plug in information about their interests and receive some suggestions about possible career paths. In the U.S., the Department of Education offers something called O*Net Interest profiler. There's also a lot of information on the Department of Education's Career Search page.

Of course, one's talents can be used in a lot of different ways. Just because a person "likes to argue," doesn't mean they will make a great lawyer. A person with great oratory skills could follow any number of career paths.    

If a kid is interested in sports, perhaps coaching or other careers related to athletics are a possibility. In 2012, the average NCAA football coach had a salary of $1.64 million. According to ESPN several years ago, the average salary for NFL assistant coaches was in the $150,000-$175,000 range, and position coaches were making $400,000 or more per season. There are all kinds of jobs in sports that last longer and provide greater financial security. 

Outside of sports (or perhaps inside sports, depending on a person's aims), Salary.com's 7 careers for the future outlines career paths that aren't likely to automated or eliminated any time soon. Here's the list:

Healthcare

Information Technology

Alternative Energy

International Law

Content Creation

Marketing

Financial Analysts

Recent research has also shown that students who take engineering classes have best chance of becoming billionaires. More than a fifth of the world’s wealthiest people studied the subject in college (even if they later dropped out), accounting for almost twice as many billionaires’ degrees as the next most popular choice.

In addition, perhaps not everybody needs or has the capacity for four, seven, or ten years in college. Getting a trade, through either a community college or apprenticeship, can be equally as rewarding and lucrative.

In fact, very smart economists have suggested that more young people get a trade in fields like utility work, power, carpentry, welding, etc. These jobs are necessary and often well-paid. Learning a trade can be much less expensive and provide much greater avenues out of the hood. The average electrician, for example, makes $5,000 a year more than the average college graduate.

Also, of course, there's the entrepreneurship route. Here are some recent stats on entrepreneurs in the United States:

Obviously, there are infinitely more options than I can write about here. I just hope this post provides some folks with the tools they need to provide kids with some more things to think about. As everybody's grandma used to say, there's more than one way to skin a cat. And there's definitely more than one way out of the hood.