Sports send the right message for girls

We are undermining our girls in this country. We are sabotaging them.

At what point do we stop?

I am no fan of Britney Spears. But I kind of felt sorry for her this week when media outlets and bloggers all over the world skewered her for the way she "looked" while performing at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

Granted, wearing a skimpy bikini on national television invites the critics to take aim. But for them to call her "fat," to accuse her of having a "bulging belly" and a "paunch," is absolutely ridiculous.

The headline about Spears in Monday's New York Post was "Lard and Clear."

Come on. Frankly, I am sick to my less-than-completely-flat stomach.

Look closely at Spears. Most women in this country would be ecstatic if they had her figure. But because she's not some idealistic, rail-thin freak of nature with rock-hard, six-pack abs, she's harshly ridiculed.

What kind of message is that sending to our young girls?

Thanks to the out-of-touch clothing designers whose juniors collections seem to feature nothing besides super-tight, low-cut tops and ultra low-rise pants, girls are already getting the message that their bodies are meant for flaunting.

Of course, what the Spears episode reinforced is that that excludes all the girls with even an ounce of fat on their bodies.

No wonder so many girls in this country have eating disorders. No wonder so many of them have self-esteem problems. Hollywood does them no favors. But then again, neither does the American public in general.

Just look at the asinine comments people are making about the Isiah Thomas' $10 million sexual harassment lawsuit. This story is back in the news because jury selection began in New York this week.

Thomas, president of the New York Knicks, is accused of improper behavior involving former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders, who was fired in January 2006 after making accusations about Thomas.

At the time the story first broke, one Chicago broadcaster tried to discredit Browne Sanders by questioning her looks, saying that because she wasn't model material, Thomas couldn't have possibly been interested in making any kind of sexual advances toward her.

I read a blogger this week who said essentially the same thing: "Anyone who has seen this woman knows she is nothing to look at and is actually very homely."

So, girls, what's the message you're hearing here?

What I'm hearing is that apparently it's also important to be rail thin and gorgeous if you are to be believed in a serious legal matter.

No wonder so many women suffer through such abuse in silence while their self-esteem and confidence slowly but surely erode.

It's at this point that I say thank God for sports.

They're not the cure-all, but study after study has shown that playing sports is so good for girls.

Playing sports gives girls confidence and self worth.

Playing sports makes girls feel empowered and strong.

Playing sports is probably the best way a girl can celebrate her body for what it can do, rather than for how it looks.

Playing sports gives girls and women the mental fortitude and wherewithal to face their challenges head on.

Look at Browne Sanders. She was a superstar basketball player at Northwestern in the mid-1980s. I'm sure her experiences of yesterday prepared her well for the courageous choices she has been forced to make today.

To all the people who like to trash women's sports and say they don't matter, this is why women's sports matter. This is why Title IX is important.

I can only hope that young girls get that message before they get all the others.

Golden girls: Grandmas aren't just for knitting and baking cookies. Some of them can hoop, too. And they'll soon get the chance to show it. Auditions for the Granny Ball League of Illinois are 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Windy City Fieldhouse, 2367 W. Logan Blvd., in Chicago.

Any 50-year-old-plus woman who would like to play a gentle game of basketball (where hard fouls are a no-no and running is kept to a minimum) is encouraged to try out for a spot on the state's first team.

The league started in Iowa and has grown to include teams in several other states. And women in their 80s have been known to play.

For more information, call (773) 296-6200 or e-mail grannyball@productionsusa.com.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com