Bullies and stupidity

Sometimes the governing bodies of sporting entities can be stupid, and like to enforce rules either improperly (rules in which there is no room for "interpretation," yet they still subject the rule to their own "interpretation"), or they enforce rules that don't actually exist, but one is close, so that's what they enforce.

Sure, I'm being cryptic here, but you really need to click on the links and read the stories. These are about two female athletes being screwed by the system. One being screwed due to her religion - she's Muslim, the other because she wants to play baseball, and the powers that be in Florida are telling her she can't because softball is available to her (note that her school has said that it has no problem with her playing baseball).

The issue for the girl in Florida -

Providence School is keeping the seventh-grader off the field by pointing to the state regulation, which says girls could participate on a boys interscholastic athletic team in a sport if the school does not sponsor a girls interscholastic athletic team in that sport, but girls may not participate on a boys interscholastic athletic team in a sport if the school sponsors a girls interscholastic athletic team in that sport.

The school is saying that the issue is with the Florida High School Athletic Association, about whom the school's headmaster said the following, "Since we have a softball team, the state has indicated to us that she will not be permitted to play baseball."

Of course the issue for the FHSAA is that baseball and softball are not the same sport. Different rules, different infield sizes, different names. This goes to court, the FHSAA loses. Period. And they lose because the officials at the state can't read their own rules.

Closer to home for me, in Washington DC, I don't even know where to start. It's just stupid, and local officials don't have a leg to stand on if this goes to court. Read these stories and let me know what you think - there's a lot of stupidity out there.