IDGAF (I don’t give a foul)

Throughout my athletic career, I was told that sports is a place of virtue. While it’s a popular sentiment, my own experience leads me to a different conclusion. Because when the ‘sports system’ becomes the main attacker of women in the field, who should be accountable then?

To be more precise, according to Women in Sports’ research of ‘Sport, stereotypes and stolen dreams: Why girls still feel they don’t belong in sport’ found that girls are starting out surrounded by expectations that will limit their enjoyment of and participation in sport and physical activity.

Reflecting on my own beginnings, I remember a world dominated by men. Banners featured icons like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Lionel Messi. They are undoubtedly great—but ‘great’ is not synonymous with ‘only,’ and they are not always the best.

Whenever I think of them, I always find myself thinking about someone else.

I have often tried to weigh the achievements of men and women in sports, tallying every win. Yet, I always find myself at a crossroads: how do you compare the weight of Michael Jordan’s six championships against Alex Eala’s world no. 45 ranking?

Now, as I tried to truly understand my purpose in doing it, I realized that someone like me, or you, shouldn’t need to weigh who’s better just to prove that women are worthy of a spot in the field of sports, because they are. That’s what I thought.

I was wrong. I was wrong for thinking that it was fair.

The marginalization of women in sports stems less from their performance and more from deep-seated tropes. The GUIDON, the official student publication of Ateneo de Manila University, highlights that for the longest time, women have been seen as more emotional than their male counterparts, often being pathologized by the historical myth of hysteria.

To sum up, we shouldn't pit men and women against each other just to find a winner and a loser. An athlete is an athlete. No one should have to constantly prove their worth. Every person, regardless of where they fall on the gender spectrum, deserves pride and fair play. For the last time, I’ll say it: I don’t give a foul on who is stronger. The fact that we breathe the same air and live in the same world is enough to make us all equal.