Dear Robbie 50…

I got an email this week. Well I got lots, but I thought I might try to respond to this one. As you’ll see shortly, try is the key word in that sentence.

“Dear Robbie, I can’t understand why Netball Australia aren’t following the lead of all the male dominated sports (eg AFL, NRL, International roundball football etc) and inventing a league for members of the opposite sex. We are being forced to watch unfit, uncoordinated, ill-equipped athletes, who I’m sure are wonderful young ladies, play a version of a football code. Why are we not able to watch men play netball, not that I would want to because netball is such a rubbish sport anyway.

Aren’t women being selfish keeping the sport to themselves? I would appreciate your help, Robbie. Kind regards Miller from Millicent” If someone could start looking into some good legal advice providers while I start crafting my response that would be greatly appreciated.

There’s a lot to unpack in that email and to be honest I’m not sure that I’m allowed to have opinions on these matters in our present world. We won’t have much of an article here for Lifestyle1 if I don’t express some opinions though. So I’ll start my exploration by saying I understand I shouldn’t express an opinion on this matter because of my privilege as a middle aged white man who is in a position of power thanks to a system built to protect my privilege. And I’ll understand if anyone else feels the need to email me and explain why my opinions are wrong.

While you raise some good points, Miller, I’m not sure of your description of the young (and old) ladies as unfit and uncoordinated. It’s definitely a different style of game to the men’s at the moment, but we probably need to understand that it’s only been the last few years that even playing football has been an option for females. Prior to that it simply wasn’t an option, so building a culture where the same opportunity for development is possible for girls, will take a little while. In all honesty I don’t enjoy watching the women versions of these sports, as it seems you don’t. Interestingly though, the two young men in my house enjoy watching sport and are quite happy watching AFLW, NRLW, or even WBBL. They’re growing up in a world where women playing sport on the TV is no big deal. To them it’s just what happens.

Basketball is possibly a good comparison point to what the female versions of these other sports might become. Professional women’s basketball has a longer history and tradition. The men generally have a different level of athleticism, but some would argue that women basketballers actually have a higher level of skill; they can’t rely on jumping higher and running faster than their opponents so need to rely on their skills and team structure. Women footballers may never have the ability to kick as far as men consistently; women cricketers may never have the ability to bowl as fast or hit as far, but there may be other aspects of their game that they develop to a level that makes watching them play their sport well worth watching.

As for your comments about netball, there has always been a funny attitude to having men involved in the sport, in my opinion. I’ve known about quite a number of boys who’ve wanted to play netball over the years and as far as I’ve understood they’ve generally not been allowed to play. This may have changed a little over recent years. But men wouldn’t have dared restrict girls’ access to any sport for decades now. The attitude of netball has generally been if you can get a league of junior boys to play against each other then they can play, but random boys can’t simply join junior netball teams which are for girls. And I don’t think that’s necessarily fair at ages where there is physically no distinctive difference between the sexes. Or they can wait until they’re an adult and play mixed netball with those hooligan, thug women who want to play mixed netball.

So essentially netball hasn’t really been available to men. If it was the other way around that would very obviously be sexism.

I’m not sure if it’s not sexism in this style of issue, or if it’s sexism but it’s allowed because of the direction it’s going in. Just to be clear, Miller, I loved playing netball except for how rough those women were. All my buddies in the Sleepy Budgies will remember the night a woman elbowed me in the face and took my tooth out. They spent the whole second half laughing at me.

Funnily enough men’s netball was featured on Kayo last week with a match between the Australian men’s team facing their New Zealand counterparts. But I have no interest in watching men play netball. I don’t have any interest in watching women play for that matter. They’re very good at it, but it just doesn’t float my boat. I think mixed netball is the best form of the sport. I wouldn’t have any interest in playing men’s netball. Interacting with women was the best part of it. And I’m not saying that in a creepy weird sexual way or anything. It was just enjoyable playing a sport where you could chat with men and women.

Maybe that’s the answer: make every sport mixed. No BBL and WBBL. MBBL. The Mixed Big Bash League. Each team can simply have no more than six of any sex in their team. The best of both worlds. Make it happen.

Email me at robbietansel@ gmail.com if you know when the Wulanda Recreation Centre will have a mixed netball league up and running.