Boys vs Girls?

In recent weeks, a story came out of Iowa regarding the state wrestling tournament. If high school wrestling exists in Arkansas or Texas, I’m unaware but from what I understand, wrestling is king in Iowa.

The news; however, was not in regards to the wresting itself, but in regards to whether boys should be wrestling against girls. Joel Northrup, a high school home-schooled student in Iowa, drew as his opponent Cassy Herkelman, one of two Iowan female wrestlers to have qualified for the state tournament. Citing religious beliefs, Joel chose to default the match because of his conviction and his church’s teaching that boys and girls should not “touch in a ‘familiar way'”. His actions cost him the chance for competing for the state title.

Rick Reily, a sports columnist and author, criticized young Mr. Northrup for defaulting the match stating,

“Fourteen-year-old wrestler Cassy Herkelman doesn’t need anybody protecting her from anything. She’s broken her collarbone, split her lip, deviated her septum, wrecked her elbow, all from wrestling. She’s about as dainty as a forklift.”

Toward the end of the article, Reily further states,

“I don’t feel as bad for Cassy as I do for Joel. He was the fifth-ranked wrestler in the state at 112 pounds. He was 35-4. He had a chance to win the whole thing. In Iowa, that means a lifetime of people buying you lunch. It’s corn-state royalty. To give all that up to protect a girl who loathes being protected? What a waste of a dream.”

I think I understand where Reily is coming from. We’ve been trained over the past years to think that boys and girls are the same, with only their anatomy separating the two. I understand, but I heartily disagree.

Albert Mohler offers great perspective on the issue:

In forfeiting the match, Joel Northrup cited his concern that wrestling is a physical sport that often turns violent. When he said “I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner,” he was only expressing what would have been taken as common sense and common decency just a few years ago.

In response to Joel’s statement, Sarah Spain wondered aloud what many others were thinking: “It’s tough to tell whether Northrup is actually concerned about harming Herkelman or if he’s just worried about accidentally touching parts of her that he might never have touched on a girl before. If he or his parents were uncomfortable with the prolonged physical contact and the very high possibility that he might grab, for lack of a better term, a ‘lady part,’ then I suppose it’s tough to reprimand him for defaulting.”

Clearly. But the great unfairness is that this boy was put in such a position in the first place. His failure to cite the sexual nature of his concerns reflects a basic sense of decency and propriety. It would have embarrassed both Joel and the girls in the tournament for such a concern, though obvious, to be articulated. But, given the nature of the sport, there is no way that a boy and a girl wrestling as opponents in a competitive match would not have contact where boys and girls should not have contact. In fact, we are talking about contact of a nature that the boy would be in great and proper trouble if the contact happened anywhere else.

The fact is that boys and girls are equal, but quite different. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 To ignore our wonderful differences is to reject the origin of our creation. Males, in all our “male-ness” represents part of who God is. Likewise, females, in all their glory also show us part of God’s person and character. We were both created in the image of God. To reject our differences claiming that we are the “same” is to reject how our differences reflect and glorify God.

As a dad, I vote with John Piper:

Come on, dads, have some courage. Just say, “Over my dead body are you going to wrestle a girl.” Of course, they will call you prudish. But everything in you knows better.

Yes, I am talking to the boys’ fathers. If the girls’ fathers don’t care how boys manhandle their daughters, you will have to take the lead. Give your sons a bigger nobler vision of what it is to be a man. Men don’t fight against women. They fight for women.

I will raise my sons to cherish the differences boys and girls. Not out of superiority of one gender over another, but equality in our differences.

Thank you, Joel Northrup, for taking this stand. May many others follow your lead.

Suggestions for Major League Baseball from 1961

The Cubs are playing their first Spring Training game of the 2011 season this afternoon. As I listen to the broadcast, Coco Crisp just hit a grand slam off Matt Garza to tie the game at 4. I love major league baseball and get excited about the season to come each year about this time.

A couple of weeks ago, I looked around the house for a baseball book to read and eventually picked one off the shelf that I bought at a used-book sale some years back: Veeck as in Wreck.

Bill Veeck is an interesting figure in the history of baseball having been owner/operator in Cleveland, with the St. Louis Browns, and finally with the Chicago White Sox. I don’t know that the history of professional baseball can completely be told without his story.

On page 255 of the 3rd printing I have in front of me, Veeck outlines some plans to “fix” baseball. Having always been a creative mind amongst other owners seeking to preserve the status quo, Veeck saw that professional football was gaining ground in popularity and that professional baseball needed to make changes to remain relevant and competitive for the affection of and entertainment dollars of the American public. In addition, he saw the game slowing and requiring longer time to complete games.

Here are his suggested changes:

1. The plate would be widened by 25 percent. This alone would put the swagger back into the pitchers’ stride and the sneer back on their lips. It would revolutionize the game of baseball, since it would force every hitter to accustom himself to a new strike zone and would give the pitcher the confidence to bite off good chunks of the plate.

2. Three balls would constitute a base on balls, and two strikes would be out. The four-ball, three-strike formula did not come down from M. Sinai. It only seems logical and right to us because we have become used to it. With the 3-2 count replaced by a 2-1 count, the balance would remain the same and a great deal of wasted time – pure fat – would be melted away.

3. A limit would be placed on the time permitted for throwing the ball around the infield after every out or, better still, the practice would be eliminated entirely. It is another one of those traditions which serve no useful purpose. If an infielder isn’t warmed up by the Fourth of July, when is he going to be?

4. The pitcher would be limited to one warm-up pitch at the start of every inning, instead of seven. One is ample. A pitcher who is worried about his arm stiffening up on a nippy day is perfectly entitled to wear his jacket between innings.

5. The intentional pass would be made automatic instead of having the pitcher go through the tiresome ritual of throwing four pitches.

6. The ball would be “slowed up”. I would not, however, try to speed up the game by discouraging players with legitimate beefs from arguing with the umpires. On the contrary, I would encourage bigger and better arguments by limiting the umpires’ powers to throw players out of the game. Oh, how I long for those dear, dead days when Frankie Frisch and George Magerkurth stood fang to jowl, eyes aflame and jugulars athrob. Part of the act? Sure. But also part of the action. I have always wandered around the stands, riling the fans up against the umpires and getting riled up myself. That’s part of the fun of the day, and part of the color and excitement of baseball.

I like the ideas. The games are entirely too long with games regularly lasting 4+ hours. Also, it’s quite obvious that the NFL has surpassed the MLB in popularity in America and did so years ago. The strike-shortened season of 1994 simply put the final nail in the coffin. Something must be done, yet Commissioner Bud Selig either has no power to make the necessary changes or is too tied to the rest of his fellow (or ex-fellow) owners that he is not objective. I tire of listening to his “successes” over the past years. While he may have made progress, he continues to lose ground and has not made enough progress. Surely he will retire soon, though there’s no promise that his replacement will be any improvement.

Veeck speaks similarly about Commissioner Ford Frick in the 1950’s and 60’s. I guess there have been problems for many years.

Nonetheless, the feel of spring is in the air, the boys in blue are throwing, swinging and stealing bases. All is good in the world and hope runs high.

Play ball!

To Myself at 22

Dear Me,

Congratulations on your graduation! Your college years have been filled with memories, challenges, work, relationships and transition into adulthood. You will cherish the relationships and memories you’ve made and though the next few years will separate you from your friends, they will remain very dear to you.

Life after college will be different. It’s harder to build relationships, but nonetheless necessary and beneficial. People are created to share our lives with one another. Make time for new friendships. You’re going to have to work through some feelings of awkwardness, but the return is well worth the effort.

You may find that there are many things in your education and rearing that haven’t fully prepared you for adulthood. From here on out you won’t constantly be around people within a couple of years of your own age. You will be learning how to live and work amongst people much different from you: different ages, different parts of town, different countries, languages, cultures, religions, political opinions, dreams, aspirations, convictions, and vices. Our world is quite a mix of people and all the training and experience you’ve received regarding team work you will find to be utterly valuable. Seek to get to know the people you’re around. Seek to understand them, treat them with mercy and grace, and seek to serve them first. You’ll find that goes a long way.

Shortly, Brian, you and Jo will be married. Marriage is a huge part of God’s plan for your sanctification. You don’t know that now, but you’ll find that you’re a lot nastier and sinful that you think you are. Living with another person will help you see the depth of your sin. You’ll find that though you may bring out the best of one another, you may also bring out the worst in one another. This is part of God’s plan to bring you to holiness. Learn to say, “I’m sorry”. Learn to lay your pride aside in repentance. You’ll be learning a lot about the depth of pride in your heart and the need for repentance, mostly the hard way. Marriage is harder than you think it will be, but it is also more wonderful than you can imagine. Try to learn to put Jo’s needs before your own and treat her with tenderness, bearing her weaknesses as she bears yours. God has created a beautiful thing in marriage.

I wish to give you a couple of bible verses to live by:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Don’t think this too simple. There’s enough of a challenge in this verse to carry you through the next 10 years and, I’m sure, many more.

…Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16

Your time is short and the years will begin to go by more quickly. Seek to redeem – to “buy back” the time you’re given because the days are evil. Make the most of what God has given to you.

Read the bible

Do what it says

Repent of your sin.

Find life in the good news that Jesus has made a way of salvation. Trust in him for all parts of salvation: justification, sanctification, and your ultimate glorification. There’s life in the gospel of Christ. Find it and live by it.

Love Jo. Love her as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her. Lay down your life for Jo for in doing so, you’ll find wonderful life.

Serve those around you. Pray for them. Seek to live and to share the life-changing power of the good news of Jesus.

Enjoy the ride.

At 32 looking back on 22,

Me

As prompted by The Daily Post.